The Rising Sun
by JustBreathe15
Summary: AU fic. After surviving the car accident that took his mother, Kurt gains powers that can only be described as abilities of the dead. He looks for answers and finds them in Blaine, a pyrokinetic he can't help but be attracted to. Better summary inside.
1. Chapter 1

The Rising Sun

Plot Summary: AU. It started when Kurt was 8 and had survived a near death accident that took his mother. Since then, Kurt's has had special abilities that could only be explained as powers of the dead. He unexpectedly finds answers when he goes to Dalton Academy and meets Blaine Anderson, a boy with pyrokinesis abilities. They begin to fall in love but what happens when Kurt's powers are beyond anything even Blaine has ever seen?

**Hey guys! Here's presenting my first AU story involving Klaine with superpowers. I know, not exactly new on here but I got the idea in my head and couldn't let it go. I think it was inspired by Stephen King's Firestarter (my favorite Stephen King novel) and a little tiny bit from Watchmen. Its rated M for future chapters and it's my first AU fic. Not going to lie, a little bit nervous about how this could be perceived so criticisms welcomed, but please don't flame. As a side note, I plan to write this along side the sequel to Ours.**

**So with that all in, I hope you enjoy it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or it's characters. If I did, it'd probably be focused on Klaine (well, no probably about it). **

()()()(Kurt)()()()

8 years old should have been the number of death for Kurt Hummel. There was barely anything left of his mother after the drunk drive collided with the front of their car and Burt had told Kurt numerous times just how terrible he looked. It was nothing compared to actually seeing the photos where Kurt didn't even look human. Blood caked everywhere, skin ripped in most places and swollen where it wasn't, limps broken and bent unnaturally like he was a puppet rather than a kid. However, not only had he survived, but there wasn't any real sign that he was ever even involved in an accident except for the faint scar that aligned with his back.

People he told about the accident always asked one question; if he remembered anything about it. Kurt tells them he remembers the overpowering smell of copper and a pain so strong he couldn't properly describe it. It was just pain, and it wasn't something no one ever wanted to feel. Both those things are true, but he never tells them what else he remembers. He also remembers it stopping for a short period as his world descended to black. He remembered feeling nonexistent—like air or wind or maybe more like a parachute opening during a sky dive. So powerful yet so light. The darkness then turned into light and for a moment or so it felt like there was no more Kurt Hummel, just before he's thrust back into the broken, solid body and the pain that came with it. It's perhaps not the best explanation of the experience but he doesn't know how else to describe it, which is why he doesn't talk about it. That, and that this was a sacred moment for him. As if no one was to know about it but him.

However, soon after he heals he notices things happening. Things seem to move from one place to another when he is around and people often complain of feeling cold around him. The big thing though happens when he's ten while he's waiting for his dad to pick him up from school. A bully of his finds him along with a group of friends and offers to give him a closer look at the boy's bathroom toilets. The ten year old takes off and runs as fast as he can around the playground. He takes refuge under the slide, crouching down and trying to control the fall of his tears. In his mind just chanting _please don't let them find me; please don't let them find me_.

He holds his breath when the bully comes around and is staring right at Kurt. Kurt starts sobbing harder and the bully looks around dumbly.

Kurt stops crying when he realizes his eyes are set on him again, but they aren't focused. After another moment or so the bully turns around and shouts out to his friends "You guys find Hummel yet?" Kurt's confused and glances around, gasping when he sees right through his hands.

This is momentary. When he blinks, his flesh is there again and everything is completely normal. Kurt's 10-year-old mind can't make sense of it. He hears the honk of a car in the distance and he sees his father in the distance. Kurt makes a break for it and manages to make it just as the bully spots him.

When Kurt tries to tell his father this, Burt just thinks Kurt is being imaginative. He was always a creative child after all. Kurt then just believes his father's assurances that he's fine and normal and that it was all his imagination. That the little things that continue to happen are just effects of a spooky vision.

He's less easy to convince when a different incident occurs at 14. Kurt's still getting bullied but he's been able to fight back slightly with sarcastic comments. Although one particularly bad morning, he says the wrong thing to Dave Karofsky and finds himself pinned against the wall a fist being raised to hit Kurt across the face—eyes red with rage.

"What did you say, Hummel?"

Kurt thinks of simply taking it back, but his tongue won't allow it. He's tired of these bullies pushing him around and doing whatever they want and not having any way to fight back. His words might not mean much but if they jab at him just a little…"I said for someone who hates gays so much you sure talk about my ass a lot..."

Kurt squeezes his eyes closes and tenses; sure the fist is colliding forward. Suddenly, he's falling backwards. When he opens his eyes, he's not pressed against the wall, but facing instillation in the janitor's closet. He hears screaming through the walls and he's grateful that it seems to be Karofsky and not him.

But the relief is short lived—he can't deny it anymore. Maybe a ten year old could imagine maybe having super powers, but actually going through a wall and your bully having the bruises to prove it (though no one believed Karofsky thank god) it was enough to scare him.

He didn't bother telling his father again but tried experimenting with powers. By 16, he has somewhat of a grasp on his powers. Kurt found he could move things if he thought about it without touching them—not heavy things, but things he could lift with his physical body. He could in fact move through walls and taught himself enough that he could do it without running into the occasional wall. Learning how to disappear on command wasn't so easy, but he found he could do it if he focused enough on it. He learned off a website that he may have other powers like possession or mediumship. He hadn't come across any spirits yet but honestly, he kind of hoped he never would.

One other thing he read was that people with his sort of abilities tended to heal and regenerate. Kurt thought about the accident that had killed his mother and the vision he saw that night. How he should have been dead or paralyzed and neither had happened. He had come out alive and apparently, very powerful. It was awesome and sickening all at once.

Online however, he doesn't find anyone like him. Hasn't heard of any one with powers before, let alone powers like his. It makes him scared to tell anyone. Karofsky knows. And his stepbrother Finn after an incident in which Finn had washed a dry clean only sweater and Kurt motioned (that was what he called him when he moved an object without touching it) a vase at him. Finn, once he gets over the fear, thinks it's the coolest thing ever but Kurt swears him to secrecy. He's trying to keep a hand on this and if people started finding out, he may lose control of how his powers are contained or someone could provoke him into using them.

He couldn't bear the though of losing control. Not just because he could hurt someone, but because he could lose his sanity.

()()()(Blaine)()()()

It's different for Blaine. There was always a chance he might get powers. His mother had the ability of empathy, which allowed her to control emotions, take them away, or manipulate a person's brain by picking or removing a particular memory. Because of this, she is a value employee for GAIA (Government for Advanced Individuals of America) who shocked everyone by marrying a mere human with no powers what so ever.

Blaine's older brother, Cooper has powers too. His are more related to Compulsion which allow him to manipulate a person thoughts or actions, sometimes even being able to make them into little more than zombies. Cooper's often used his powers to make Blaine hit himself in the face or run into walls. He doesn't get powers himself until he reaches puberty, but Blaine's hoping for something completely kick-ass so he can get Cooper back.

And lucky him, it does happen.

Blaine is 12, nearly two weeks away from 13 when it happens. He had complained about feeling tired and dizzy all day and since no one his around to tell him so (his father working hard as a lawyer and his mother with GAIA) Blaine takes it upon himself to nap. He can't sleep though because the temperature in his room is slowly climbing. He throws the blanket off his body but he's still unbelievably hot. He forces himself up to open windows and turn on the fan. He returns to his bed dripping in sweat.

It's late fall outside, slightly chilly out. Blaine's positive he has a fever but he shouldn't be _this _hot. Blaine practically peels the shirt off his body and throws it to the floor barely hearing the heavy wet _slap_.

It's still too hot. Much too hot. He strips off his pants and boxers. Fingers graze across skin and it's all frying at the touch. He feels like he's in an oven that's been turned up all the way—and it's getter hotter still. He's starting to realize this is getting serious. For it to be this warm, he must have one hell of a fever.

Blaine makes the decision that he should get up and take an icy shower, maybe a cold bath. However the minute he jumps back up to his feet he screams loud enough the neighbors can probably hear. Something snapped when Blaine got back up to his feet. The hot feeling has officially started burning. He falls back onto the bed, curling around himself and screaming. He does so until the pain is too intense and he is simply paralyzed with agony. The burning feels like it's gone on for hours, but in reality, it was minutes before he finally passed out.

When he wakes, he's no longer in pain. In fact, he feels great. Powerful, Strong. He's never felt better in his entire life. That is until he realizes he's on the floor—bare floor. Last time he checked, his room was carpeted and he had passed out on the bed.

Blaine looks up and sees his melted bed frame, above it air where mattress use to be. Looking over the side and down at him is Cooper who must arrived while he was passed out. His older brother smiles down at him.

"Well, isn't this interesting." Blaine sits up and peers down where he was lying down. A huge area of burnt hardwood where he just was. "Dad's going to be so mad at you."

When his mom gets home, she's shocked to say the least. Not only because her son has managed to burn a hole through his bed, but because of the power he's obviously received. To confirm it, Blaine starts playing around with controlled fires and exploding targets his mom and Cooper set up for him. It's clear as day, Blaine is a pyrokinetic. This is odd because usually a child inherits powers somewhat similar to their parents such as the link between empathy and compulsion. His mother points out that there have been cases of children developing different powers—but it's rare for it to occur.

Contrary to what his brother said, Blaine's father wasn't mad. Just the opposite. He was proud of Blaine. GAIA had restrictions on what humans could know about a super human's abilities. They had to have documentation and pass rigorous tests before GAIA allowed a human into 'the circle' as it was called. Because of this, humans usually reacted two ways. They were either embarrassed by their loved ones abilities, or felt rather superior because of it. In this case, Mr. Anderson loves that he's part of what was a essentially a nation wide secret.

He is however not so proud when Blaine comes out at age 15. In fact he's down right livid about it. He insists that Blaine reconsiders up until Blaine blows up the kitchen table in a fit or rage. After that, Mr. Anderson just stops talking to Blaine all together. Whether it was out of disgust or fear, Blaine didn't know and he didn't care.

His coming out at school was at the Sadie Hawkins dance. He asks his human friend and only other out gay kid at school to go and he agrees. The night starts out wonderful. They have dinner before and they laugh and flirt the entire time. At the dance people give them looks but Blaine is too wrapped up to care. He does something his mother has warned him against many times. He lets his guard down.

They're walking out to wait for his mom to pick them up once the dance is over. His date starts to shiver from the cold air so Blaine sheds his jacket and drapes it over his shoulders. His date gives him a weird look. "Aren't you freezing?"

Blaine's never cold. His body is constantly many degrees above the normal human body temperature. "I'm okay… I'd hate for you to catch a cold because I was a bad date." He teased. Blaine's date smiled.

"Well, I can tell you Blaine Anderson, you are far from a bad date…" The boy leans forward, eyes drooping slightly. Blaine's breathing unknowingly speeds up. He starts leaning in to meet halfway. Their lips are inches apart when a voice interrupts.

"Oh god, look at the queers." The boys both turn to see a group of 4 upperclassmen. Suits disheveled and disgust evident in their eyes. Blaine shots them a glare but doesn't want to cause any trouble. His mother has forbidden him from using his powers in public.

His date huffs and shouts back. "Real subtle, pointing out the gays. Getting lonely in the closet?"

One of the guys snorts and starts walking towards them. "Excuse me? What the hell did you say fag?"

Blaine's date seems to realize he's crossed a line as the 3 other men begin to follow. Blaine protectively steps in front of his date just as the man reaches him. "Look, we're not looking for trouble. Just leave us alone and no one gets hurt."

The men give each other disbelieving looks before breaking out into laughter. Blaine feels his blood racing. Save for the day he received his powers; he's never been so frightened.

Without warning, the man closest punches Blaine in the stomach. The wind is knocked out of him and he can't react as one of the others punch him in the face and knock him down to the pavement.

"Blaine!" His date shouts before his arm is twisted behind his arm. Blaine's non-swelling eye catches his date being knocked against the flagpole. The man that called them out keeps punching him in the face. The terrible sound of skull hitting metal ringing in ears. They punched every part of his body they could reach, taking his breath away just as he regains it.

When he looks up again, his date is lying on the pavement, pain-filled groans escaping his lips. The person who started the fight rolls him over on to his back and without holding back, slams his boot down on the boy's neck.

It's the right amount of air in his lungs and anger in his heart. It's enough that Blaine's eyes start to golden. He focuses on the man and forces all his strength forward.

The man combusts into flames immediately. Screams ripping from his body as he backs away from the limp young man. Blaine takes advantage of the shocked state of the other men and forces his power on to them. Soon, each of them bursting out into flames. Blaine stands but doesn't stop. He sneers as he makes the fire hotter and hotter.

He smells burning flesh but doesn't care. They deserved to burn. To be marked as different like they had done to him. The power begins to expand and trees are catching on fire too. Cars are flipping as fire explodes from the windows. People in the distance are calling for help and screaming. Blaine can't hear them. The fire is still burning within.

It's not until a harsh hand grasps at his wrist. "BLAINE! STOP!"

His eyes flicker over as he prepares to set out the fire once more. He sees the face of his mother. Blaine's eyes immediately dull back to hazel and the power retracts back into him.

Around him is complete destruction. The trees have started the school on fire. Car alarms are ringing everywhere as cars are flipped and broken across the parking lot. The boys Blaine started on fire are no longer burning but their bodies are melted, horrible figures of what they use to be. He's done this. He's destroyed and murdered.

Blaine's mother raises her hand to wipe a tear from his eye. She then turns away and peers at Blaine's date. She walks over to him and kneels down, ear leaned down near his mouth and fingers pressed against his jugular.

Blaine finds his voice after awhile. "Mom is he…?"

His mom looks up at Blaine with a nervous look. After a moment, she nods. Blaine's heart is crushed by grief as he begins to choke and sob. He feels the power rising again and Mrs. Anderson stands reaching out her hand.

Then Blaine doesn't feel anything. No grief. No sadness. Just nothing. His mom has removed the emotion in order to subdue Blaine. Cooper comes to the scene a few minutes later and uses his compulsion to make Blaine sleep.

He learns later on, his emotions still numbed, that the incident has been covered as a lab explosion. GAIA covers their tracks well, and a superhuman with healing powers is brought in to revive the surviving boys Blaine had burnt back to health. The one that killed his date was dead on the scene. Though their regenerated bodies will never be as good as natural bodies, they'll get to live while nothing can be done about Blaine's date. Cooper instead, uses his compulsion to convince the boy's parents that their son had died in a car accident. Blaine's hands are washed free of the incident but his mind will never forget it. His mother lets Blaine feel the grief a little bit at a time but overwhelming feeling he has is guilt.

Why hadn't stopped those men sooner? Why didn't he grab his date and run before it happened? Questions that had not prevented the two deaths, three altered lives, and an unimaginable burden on Blaine's shoulders.

His mom tells him 3 months after the incident that she had found a new school for Blaine to attend. Dalton Academy. It had a zero-tolerance policy towards bullying which meant Blaine wouldn't have to worry so much about defending himself and losing control. She also mentioned that there were a group of superhuman boys there (under the guise of a singing group) that could perhaps better teach and relate to Blaine than she or Cooper could. He's terrified of the idea of setting foot in another school after what happened, but likes the idea of having some help in learning to keep a hold of his abilities. Plus, it would be nice to be with kids his age who better knew what he was going through.

And that's how he ended up here at Dalton Academy. Since then, he's made friends with the Warblers, the group his mother had told him about, and finds it to be a great support group. The group is led by Wes who can read thoughts and see into the future, David who has super strength, and Thad who had a few different levels of special vision including x-ray, heat vision, and freeze vision.

Blaine's also befriended a few other kids in the group. There's Nick who has the ability to transform into gas or liquid like form. Jeff who can construct shapes from energy, and finally Trent who was the only person in the group with no desire to talk or show his powers. Nonetheless, Blaine made himself a second home there. A new place away from the things in his past.

Except he never forgot. Sometimes he'd wake up screaming in the middle of the night as nightmares plagued him. The scared look on his date's face, the smell of burning flesh, and the look of horror on his mom's face. It all hit him and he would never escape it.

He was trapped in his own personal ring of fire.

**And there's the first chapter! It's sort of just an introduction to everything going on, I don't imagine it'll be so rigid in the future. I did keep Blaine's date nameless for a reason—any guesses to who it might've been? Hope you all enjoyed the first chapter and continue reading it :) **


	2. Chapter 2

If there was ever a time Kurt wanted to disappear. It was now. But that wouldn't be very discrete now would it?

"Could we focus please? We're facing off against the girls in three days, and you guys have contributed nothing." Around the room, New Direction boys are staring at him like he's moved something telepathically. Dumb-founded. Or at least it might have been. Kurt knew the men in the group never really took him seriously since he was more times than not off with the girls.

"Um, I'm sorry, but who died and made you queen?" Puck scoffs, dropping his boots on the desk. Kurt rolls his eyes. "We all know you'd rather be with the girls anyway."

"Believe me, I'd rather slit my wrists than be here…" Kurt says, gesturing around with dry erase marker. The guys have learned by this point not to take him so seriously. Sarcasm was like breathing to Kurt Hummel, even if the words were a little bit true. Kurt really did like the New Direction boys—they were sometimes the only thing that kept Karofsky away from him. But he was under a lot of stress because Karofsky was getting worse with his bullying and his one creative outlet besides his powers, singing was currently at a stale mate because none of the boys (shocker) wanted to sing a song by a woman. "But Mr. Schue put me with you guys so you're stuck with me. Can we just get back to….?"

"Why are we even bothering with any of this? We got drawn against the Warbler's this year for sectionals." Sam laments. Kurt raises an eyebrow because it's not like him to be so grim. Finn gives him a confused look.

"The Warblers?" He asks.

"Yeah, you know, the group from that private school out in Westerville…They've never lost sectional or regional competition. They make Vocal Adrenaline look like a kindergarten choir." Artie throws in. Finn nods but still looks a little bit confused.

"Exactly. So as far as I'm concerned we should just drop our pants before we get on stage because they're going to beat them off anyway." Kurt pinched the bridge of his nose. Why exactly had Mr. Shue bothered to make—or anyone for that matter—leader of this meeting?

Kurt looks up and says in a frustrated tone of voice. "With an attitude like that Samuel…"

"Dude Sam, that's was actually really funny. That place is a gay school, you know." Puck said, leaning over to high-five Sam. His body starts to shiver noticeably, and that's because Kurt is glaring at him, sending all sorts of negative energy his way.

"Are they really?" Mike Chang said, deciding to get in on the conversation.

"Yeah, totally dude. Hey Kurt, you should go make yourself useful and spy on the competition! You'd totally fit in." Finn leans over and punches Puck in the shoulder hard. This brings down Kurt from whatever act of anger he was about to invoke on Puck. He was thinking maybe chair to his face but that hardly seemed creative. The comment was pretty terrible as it was; coupled with his latest upset with Karofsky and the simple fact that there was no where he fit in, Kurt had little patience for any of Puck's shit today.

Kurt took a deep breath and tried again. "First of all, no Noah, they are not a 'gay' school. It's all boys' boarding school. Second of all, they've always made it to Nationals but they've never won, so obviously they're not untouchable. And finally, maybe we should focus on beating our own team members before we worry about some school is Westerville!"

The bell went off and the boys started packing up. Kurt sighed and saved his breath. No use trying to get them to stay later—it was obvious their hearts weren't in this assignment. Kurt picks up his bag and waits for Finn since they only take one car from home.

"Sorry about Puck today." Finn says sheepishly, stepping aside Kurt as they walked out into the hall. "I don't think he realized you were having a bad day."

"He'd be like that anyway." Kurt responded.

"I don't know. He does like you Kurt—he just…"

"I get it Finn. Thanks…I mean really, thanks for trying to get him to stop." Kurt is truly surprised by Finn's progress. Things had started out kind of rocky when their parents started dating. It was kind of Kurt's fault for pursuing him as a crush when he knew Finn was straight, but sometimes Finn hadn't always reacted in the best way. For whatever reason, the tension broke when Finn learned of Kurt's powers—whether that was out of some respect for his macho-hero dream, or because Finn realized Kurt didn't have things quite as easy as other people did, he wasn't sure. It also helps that in the time he's lived with Finn, he's realized that while Finn is very sweet and endearing, he wasn't as much Kurt's type as he originally thought. By the time their parents had actually gotten married, they were ready to be brothers.

"Well, I figured if someone didn't, you were going to lose it on him. Then everyone would know just how badass you really are." Finn teased. Kurt smiles and is about to thank him again when he hears Rachel approaching from behind. Even if he wasn't superhuman, he'd be able to hear her approaching from afar. He was amazed a dancer could make so much noise.

She throws her hands around Finn and squeals. "Guess who?"

Finn smiles and looks over his shoulder. "Hey baby, how did the girls meeting go?"

"Nah-uh. I've been forbidden to tell the enemy, but I will tell you that thanks to my magnificent talents you boys will be getting a run for your money."

Kurt makes a gagging noise when Rachel stands on her tippy-toes to give Finn an Eskimo kiss. He doesn't hate Rachel anymore; in fact since she's started dating Finn, they've become somewhat friends. But as friends, she should have known better than to flaunt her relationship in his face. Even if he wasn't pining after Finn anymore (and she totally knew he use to), it was hard for Kurt to watch other couples have what he may never will. Lima, Ohio wasn't exactly a dream for people who were gay so most of the gay men were either conveniently placed in an entirely different town or state, or they were so deep in the closet they wouldn't even look his obviously gay way. And assuming one day, he did find a gay man somewhere around here. His powers made it impossible to have a normal relationship. He'd probably accidently unleash it one time and said guy would either A. think it's cool like Finn and possibly love him for the wrong reasons or B. run out the door like his ass was on fire.

Yes, he realized it was childish to expect Rachel and Finn not to be cuddly with each other simply because he didn't have a boyfriend. He was pretty okay with that thought though. "Well, you won't have to work very hard because we've got nothing."

"Oh Kurt," Rachel said with a large smile. "I never have to work very hard to be the best. If only I had been born a guy…"

"I'm glad you're not though." Finn said, his sweet-talking voice making Kurt want to vomit. He blushed and looked down to Kurt. "No offense man."

"My sentiments exactly." Kurt lets them get one kiss in before he clears his throat. "Now as much as I just _hate_ to break this up, I have homework I have to do at home and unlike everyone else in our group, I'd like to work on a few ideas for our Glee project."

Finn and Rachel get in a long lasting hug before Kurt's dragging him away from her. "Honestly Finn, you act like she's constantly going away and never coming back. She practically lives at our house."

"Sorry dude. Rachel just has that effect on me. She's like a new Madden game or a really delicious sandwich." He says thoughtfully. Kurt bets that just sounded like a love poem in his head. He lets go of Finn as they make it to the parking lot and out to Kurt's Navigator. They get into the car rather silently, but Finn speaks up again just as Kurt starts up the car. "You know I've been thinking…"

"Dangerous thing to do, Finn." Kurt replies. He can feels Finn's glare on him. "Sorry, reflex. Continue."

"Anyway…I've been thinking. Maybe you should go spy on the Warblers." Kurt hits the breaks once he's backed up enough and shoots a look at Finn. He's trying to decide If Finn is just being dumb or if he should make Finn walk home. "I mean, not because your gay and it's a 'gay' school….Oh shit, except you said it wasn't. It's not! It's just… well…."

Now he's shrinking under Kurt's gaze and the counter-tenor can't help but sigh as he starts to pull out of the parking lot. "Finn, there's absolutely nothing in this car I could throw at you and I just got my baby back a few months ago, so I'm not about to risk losing it again by getting in an intentional passenger side accident, so calm down."

Finn waited until he was confident enough to speak again. "The way I see it. You could actually sneak into Dalton because of your powers. You said you could through walls and disappear, right? So if anyone caught you, you could totally get away."

Kurt made a 'huh' sound. It was actually a pretty good point. He was just surprised it came from Finn. It was easier for him to get in because he could just glide through those pesky walls and buildings, and if hypothetically, someone did recognize or find him out, he could disappear. Besides, what could they really do to him? Though he was too afraid to try it out, all the things he had read about and his survival of the car accident seemed to suggest that he could heal faster than other people. He couldn't help but notice he never found a bruise when Karofsky or Azimio and with his pale skin, it should have been clear as day.

He wasn't use to be stronger than other people. All his life, people had been out to bully and hurt Kurt because he was different. Made him feel as if his life didn't matter. Finn had told him numerous times he should just go, quote on quote 'crazy on Karofsky's ass' but every time he thought of it, he froze up. Maybe he was afraid that his powers could hurt someone but Kurt knew somewhere in his brain that his insecurities had placed a block that prevented him from using his powers to harm other people.

For now the block was a good thing, it meant he couldn't kill or maim someone accidently, which was always nice. That being said, he feared that maybe he would forever be followed by this wave of doubt and fear.

()()()()()()()

"For god sakes Jack! We're in the middle of a meeting." Wes said after banging his gavel mid-meeting. The sophomore blushed and looked down to the floor with a muttered apology. Impure thoughts again, Blaine noted, likely about David's girlfriend Katherine. It was difficult to get away with not paying attention during Warbler meetings when your leader happened to be a mind reader. Wes cleared his throat and turned back to David. "As you were saying?"

The best part was David had sat through the whole not at all phased. At this point, they were use to Wes picking their brains and listening for thoughts that didn't pertain to Warbler business. There were still a few members, mainly those who had grown up in a mostly humanized environment, who were shocked when an outburst like this occurred. Blaine however, had grown up with Cooper (who misused his powers like he was running out of it) and Robin Anderson, Head of Integration at GAIA, and there for was rather familiar with things like this. "Thank you Wes. Anyway as I was saying, we've received our face-off list for Sectionals this year. It would appear we're facing off against the New Directions and the Hipsters."

"Well that should be easy then. The Hipsters are likely to break a hip before they get on stage." Nick said leaning back in his chair beside Blaine. "And didn't Vocal Adrenaline beat New Directions last year at Regional's? And didn't we beat Vocal Adrenaline out at Nationals? They don't stand a chance especially with our leading man Blaine here."

Blaine smiled at the boost of confidence since it was announced earlier this year he would be the new lead soloist for Dalton. "I appreciate that Nick, but I wouldn't count them out. Everyone I talked to said Vocal Adrenaline practically stole it from the New Directions last year. There were rumors of unfair judging."

"Yes, thank you Blaine. Now I'm fairly confident our group will do well at Sectionals." Thad began. And they did. No one would admit out loud but the people with empathetic powers always set a good mood when the Warblers performed, and they're advanced senses gave them better hearing and singing abilities. Blaine didn't really count it as cheating since there were no rules against it. That and really, any group he knew would have done the same and more. "But just to be on the safe side, we're going to up our impromptu performances to three times a week, so we expect you all to be ready to perform. Our next impromptu performance will still be tomorrow in the common area around 11, just before lunch." There were a collective group of groans in the room but no one dared to reject the council after three weeks ago when David had thrown a desk at a group of 'whiners' while he had a headache. "Is there any other Warbler business that needs to attended to? Alright then, meeting is adjourned."

Wes hit brought down the gavel, his glare never leaving from Jack. They leading members stood at the room started to file out. Blaine got up and head over to David—perhaps the person he closest to on the board. "Hey David…"

David looked up and smiled. "And what can I do for you on this fine day, Blaine?"

Blaine shifted uncomfortably. "I was wondering if I could call a fight club meeting tonight? I know it's last minute but…"

David must have felt the heat radiate off Blaine because he gave him a knowing look. "I'm guessing the weekend visit at your parents didn't go well?"

"Not really. I almost set my father on fire. Did it to his office papers instead."

"I'll spread the word around. Are we letting the Cindys in on it too? Katie's been dying to get some play time in."

Blaine shrugged. "Your call. I just don't want any of them flirting with me." David laughed and pat Blaine's shoulder.

"I'll see what I can do." David grabbed his bag and smiled at Jack who had just gotten lectured by Wes. He didn't take Jack fantasizing about Katherine very seriously. Especially since Wes caught him doing it all the time. And apparently Katherine herself thought it was kind cute.

Now that David had mentioned it, he kind of hoped Katherine would show up. She'd be the perfect person to unleash a little hell on.

()()()()()()()

Later that night Kurt was looking through his wardrobe, making the rack spin from his computer chair as he looked over the Dalton uniform. It wouldn't exactly be easy to recreate, but he could probably at least make something that would pass him as a new student.

He had taken the liberty of watching a few Warbler videos online as well. The lead soloist from last year had been a senior, which was somewhat promising. It meant he wasn't there this year and for all Kurt knew, he could have been the piece de resistance of the Warblers.

They were a likable group. Clean-cut boys dressed in uniforms and having way too much fun together. Maybe there was some truth to the rumors Puck had brought up earlier. His gaydar went off looking at a few of them.

He stopped the rack and motioned an old jacket over to him. The fabric feeling slick and thin under his fingers. It had been an impulse save from the garage sale his father had thrown when they were moving into their current house. It was a large coat but Kurt was pretty sure it belonged to his mother. He just had never found an outfit that it went with.

Kurt squinted his eyes at the computer screen. They kind of looked similar (if you were visually impaired). It at least looked dapper.

With a sigh, Kurt resigned himself to the fact that it would have to do. He strung together the rest of the outfit and motioned it on to the hook on the back of his door and went on to his skin regiment.

So tomorrow, he'd meet these infamous Warblers. He could only hope they were ready for Kurt Hummel.

()()()()()()()

The Cindys were the superhuman group from Dalton's sister school, Crawford. Only instead of them being a singing group, the girls lived under the guise of a dance crew. A few of the Warblers had sisters on the Cindys or in the case of David, a girlfriend. So it was no surprise when the Warblers entered the abandoned warehouse and standing front and center was Katherine Rivers along with 6 or 7 other Cindys.

"Katie, sweetie!" David shouted, embracing his girlfriend. Katherine, contrary to David's dark skin and tall frame, only reached about 5,4 and was pale white. Her hair draped into bright red ringlets around her round face. Nose and cheeks lined with light freckles. The girl looked vulnerable and completely harmless, but as anyone who called her Katie but David found, that wasn't the case.

"Davey, baby." She teased back. Blaine smiled, fighting against the jealousy that boiled inside. His desire for a relationship was only curved by the reminder that the one time he tried it had resulted in two deaths. Katherine pushed him away and then turned to rest of the boys. "Alright, I'm ready to kick some butt, who's first?"

Blaine clenched his fist unknowingly. David noticed and laughed. "I think Blaine's dying to have a go."

Katherine shrugged and smiled. Blaine smiled back and a circle was formed around them. It had taken some time for Blaine to get use to fighting against a girl. None of the boys were really comfortable with it when David first brought Katherine to a fight club. But after seeing the couple fight each other (apparently, David was letting her have a go at him after he accidently insulted her dress) the boys saw that the girls, especially Katherine could hold their own in a fight. And her powers actually made her the safest person for Blaine to fight.

Once Jeff gave them the signal to go, Blaine didn't hold back. His eyes started to glow gold and he pushed fire from his hands out towards Katherine. Katherine instinctively raised her arms up to her face just as the fire hit her.

One of the new Cindys gasped out loud but everyone else remained calm. It distracted him, otherwise Blaine would have seen the figure running against the fire and delivering a solid punch to his jaw.

The fire retracted back. His glowing eyes were wide when Katherine delivered a second heavy punch to his stomach. If he were human, it'd be equivalent of getting a guardrail in your stomach. Instead, it just hurt like hell.

David had once described her as like Wolverine except 'she's a babe'. There wasn't any trace of metal in Katherine's body per say, but her body was hard and heavy. The power of invulnerability.

"Come on Blaine, I'm starting to get bored here." She crackled. Blaine decides to change tactics—use the surroundings and use his heat.

Blaine pulls himself away and starts fire-off fireballs. Katherine tries to follow along but starts backing up. The temperatures growing warmer around Blaine as he starts walking forward. She may be immune to his fire but she can still feel the heat. It's still uncomfortable.

He manages to hit a strap holding together bundles of wood and it falls. Blaine pulls back at the last minute and the woods falls on top of her. Blaine smirks and pushes his fire out again, setting the bundle a blaze. He'll never admit how good this feels. Being able to lose control and be as destructive as he wants. Not to have worry about hurting people around him or having to keep his rages under control. Not having to worry about another outburst occurring or disappointing his parents again. Here, he was just fire. And fire ran free.

Katherine pushed the wood off of her with a grunt. She was breathing hard and looking at Blaine with a stone cold predator look. The nice girl act completely tarnished by the background of fire.

Then it returned when her lips turned up into a smile. "Now that's what I'm talking about!" Just before she surged forward and cracked another punch across Blaine's face.

**And there's chapter 2! I promise, the boys will be meeting next chapter, I just felt a little more set up was needed for their current lives. Thank you to everyone who alerted (my mailbox blew up with alerts this morning which made me smiled), favorited or reviewed the story :) After not starting it out doing so and ultimately, falling so behind on doing it with Ours, I'm going to start responding to reviews early on :) **

**MegumiDarkAurora- First reviewer! Thank you so much! I have a lot of ideas so I'm not even sure where it's 100% going at this point, but it should be fun. **

**Yaoilover103- At this point, I couldn't stop writing it, lol. Something about Blaine and fire…anyway, thank you for your kind words! And while Klaine will be the primary couple I do intend to feature some of the other couples too. Thanks again for reviewing :) **

**Kyubifreak- Thank you! It probably came sooner than you thought it would. I hope that's a good thing**


	3. Chapter 3

It's nearly midnight when the Warblers return home from Fight Club. In the end, Blaine can't win against Katherine but when he fights not even defeat can bring him down. The fight lasted much longer than some of the others.

David takes on Cassie, a Cindy with the ability of sonic scream. Nick gets Renee, another Cindy who can run and react faster than the human eye can catch. And Jeff gets Miller, a Warbler who can levitate himself or anything he touches. Each fight is impressive in it's own right and it keeps Blaine riled. Keeps him excited.

He's covered with sweat. He always has to take a shower when he gets back because the smell is too powerful even for him. A normal dorm at Dalton has two boys in each room sharing a bathroom with the dorm next door, but Blaine's mother thought it better that Blaine get his own dorm room and there for his own bathroom. He switches the shower to the hottest setting (his tolerance for anything cold is so low especially after his powers have been worked) and strips down before stepping into the scolding water. Stem fills the room in a matter of minutes and he can barely see anymore, but he can feel his muscles relax and sooth so that's perfectly fine with him.

Not that he would know, but Blaine thinks the fighting and then the relaxation is little bit like sex. The adrenaline gets pumping, the heart rate speeds up, and you feel so alive that any moment you had before seems wasted. If his mother knew he sought mental satisfaction in this way, she'd probably scold him and tell him how this isn't any way to escape his problems.

And his father would just yell for one reason or another. The whole reason Blaine was so angry was because his father had called him a spoiled brat simply because Blaine had no interest in going out to the garage and working on cars again. It'd be one thing if his father actually wanted to spend time with him; it was that Blaine knew his father was hoping to make him straight. As if fixing a car and getting his hands dirty was going to flip on a switch and suddenly, he was going to be dating a Cindy.

Getting his father to see he was really gay and nothing would change that; it was a never-ending fight. One his father decided just not to fight all together. Which almost worse than screaming in Blaine's face about it.

The water switches off and Blaine works his way through the steam until he is dried, clothed, and ready for bed. His body is exhausted but he's afraid to sleep because he knows what he will see. The fighting is a release for him when he's awake, but when he sleeps it's a confinement. It reminds him too much of the night he lost control. When he had tried to kill four men and succeed with one. The night he might have killed more had his mother not stopped him.

And for what? The boy he was trying to defend died anyway. Had died in a violent, horrific death, all because he had to push back a little bit. All because he was tired of people judging them for daring to be thinking, feeling, creatures who followed instinct and loved who they were born to love.

He does fall sleep eventually. And as guessed, the night is replayed in his mind. He screams and begs his mind to let him escape it but the mind says watch and Blaine couldn't turn away even if tried.

It's the one time fire doesn't feel like his ally. It's the one time he's fighting against himself.

()()()()()()()

Kurt sucked in a breath of air as he took a good look around the hallway. No wonder the students lived here fulltime. Dalton was incredible. Marble hallways, large arches, chandeliers in practically every room. The walls decked with artwork of angels and trees and various other characters that would be ridiculous anywhere else but seemed perfect here.

Come to think of it, nothing at Dalton seemed out of place except for Kurt. It's kind of like at McKinley where it's obvious he's on the outside, except in this place it's not necessarily a bad feeling. He doesn't feel like a part of the crowd, but he doesn't feel unwelcomed either. It's actually a nice change of pace.

He didn't really think this whole plan through very well though. Kurt spent so much time planning out getting Finn to school, giving him a flawless alibi as to why he wasn't at school/Glee practice before making the drive to Dalton and walking on campus, but he didn't know where the Warblers met or how to ask someone about them without giving himself away. He searched both floors entirely and it's nearly 11 when he's growing frustrated.

"They have five common areas but no music rooms?" Kurt sighs as the students switch classes again. He starts to follow them back to the stairwell—he really doesn't want to restart his search from the beginning but he doesn't want to go back empty handed either. He decides he has no choice but to ask someone.

It's a serendipitous moment. Just as Kurt made the decision to ask someone a dark-haired boy with overly gelled hair and just a bit shorter than he was steps in front of him. "Excuse me…" Kurt says, gently touching his elbow. The boy takes three or four more steps before he turns around to face Kurt. He has to tell himself no to gasp as he takes in the boy he stopped.

Exotic olive-toned skin. Beautiful emollient eyes. Hard, chiseled jaw line that made him look just so damn masculine. Okay, now he really understood why people lived at Dalton. He'd pay obscene amounts of money if it meant he got to see this man every day.

Kurt finds his voice once the boy shoots him a confused look. "I'm kind of all turned around. I'm new here." He says gesturing to the outfit. Just when he though the boy couldn't be more appealing to the eye, the corner of his lips lift into a smile. He extends his hand out to Kurt and tells him in a honey sweet voice.

"I'm Blaine."

()()()()()()()

"Kurt." The boy responds in a surprisingly high tone of voice, taking his hand and shaking it. Blaine doesn't want to let go—the skin is soft just like everything else about the boy's appearance. His skin is lucent which poses his sharp graceful features very nicely. His eyes are large and have changed colors in a matter of moments. They had started as a delicate blue and have now evolved into a harsh green. His hair is styled prim and proper just like a Dalton student would, even though his outfit, while fashionable, is so not. Blaine's certain he's never seen a living creature—boy or girl—who's looked so beautiful.

"Kurt." Blaine repeats with a nod, forcing himself to let go of the hand.

Kurt takes a look around as several more people are whispering to each other excitedly and smiling at Blaine. Kurt smiles and turns back to Blaine. "So you must be popular…"

"Oh no, it's just almost time for the Warblers impromptu performance in the common area. I'm kind of the new lead soloist." Blaine doesn't bother mentioning that he's running late to his own performance. He's running on 5 maybe 4 hours of sleep and has been behind all day. Until this moment, he's really been too busy to think about anything else besides just getting through the day.

"Impromptu performance?" Kurt asks. Blaine glances at the clock against the wall and realizes he doesn't really have to time to explain everything to Kurt. Instead, he reaches out and takes Kurt's hand, smiling at the wide-eyed expression of wonder.

"Come on, it's this way."

()()()()()()()

It's the single greatest moment of his life. He scolds himself for feeling that way about a complete stranger, but this is the first time he's ever held hands with a man who wasn't his father. He's pulling him away from the stairs and down an empty corridor and Kurt can't help but feel elated. Blaine's hand is so warm and gentle in his. It feels so complete yet so strangely erotic. He's felt airless before, but never once like he could fly.

Then when Blaine looks back and smiles at him, a small laugh escaping from his lips, Kurt feels his heart melt. It catches him off guard to have someone be so friendly to him after a first meeting but by god he isn't complaining. They enter through the large doorway to one of the first common areas Kurt had entered. The room filled with uniformed boys. In such close quarters with everyone else, Kurt can't help but feel uncomfortable. "I stick out like a sore thumb."

Blaine reaches over and smoothes the lapel in his jacket, giving him a cocky smirk. "So wear your jacket next time, new kid." Kurt doesn't get the chance to come up with a follow-up comment, The Warblers have notice Blaine's presence and starting doing backup sounds. Blaine, never taking his eyes off Kurt, backs himself in line with the other boys and starts to sing.

Teenage Dream is one of Kurt's favorite songs and honestly, he'd never imagine a boy singing the lyrics, not even him. But the words fall from Blaine's mouth and lift into the air. Last year's soloist had nothing on him. His voice was incredible. Well, really everything about Blaine performing was unbelievable. The way he moved, the way he sang, the way he looked at Kurt as if he was looking directly into the boy's soul; it all did one thing or another to him.

And you know, it was always nice when an attractive boy sang-asked you to go all the way with him.

When the performance ended, the entire room thundered with applause. Kurt broke of his daze and started clapping as well, almost forgetting these were supposed to be their rivals.

"Oh god, could you be any more obvious?" Kurt turned to the side to see a boy standing next to him. Thin, narrow features. Long neck leading to a narrow, lithe face. Brunette hair styled from his face in a way Kurt could have appreciate had he not been so sure the boy was insulting him. His toothy grin suggested anything but friendly fun. "Seriously, I'm surprised you haven't drooled all over that women's department store coat."

"Yeah well, fashion knows no gender." Kurt said, relaying one of his famous lines before looking forward again. The boy snorted and shook his head.

"Yes well, apparently neither do you. Sorry to tell you this, but Blaine only dates guys." Kurt turns to tell him to back off, only to see the boy walking away and fading back into the crowd. _Meerkat-faced little bitch_. Kurt can't help but think. He's drawn out of his anger when Blaine approaches him.

"So, what'd you think?" He asked with that amazing grin.

"I thought it was incredible, and I don't say that about just anyone." Okay, he did sound a little fan boy now, but he was excited. A good-looking boy was talking to him and that good-looking boy was just confirmed to be gay.

But it was shattered when Blaine chuckled and said. "So, want to get some coffee so you can tell me the real reason you're here?"

()()()()()()()

Blaine likes his coffee scalding hot. Like would react like acid if thrown in your face hot. It confuses Kurt when Blaine stops him from grabbing his cup. "Oh no, that one's for me. Here…" He then places Kurt's cup in front of him and sits down across from the terrified looking boy. David and Wes sitting on either side of him with bottles of soda. They don't intend for staying the entire time, just long enough to secure that Kurt wasn't really a threat.

Just after the performance, Wes had grabbed Blaine's arm and told him that Kurt was a spy from another school, but Blaine didn't need psychic powers to know that. Wes however, then told Blaine that Kurt also had abilities. Abilities that quote _"I've never even heard about being all together."_

That catches Blaine's interest. Kurt certainly didn't look powerful. He actually reminded Blaine quite a bit of Katherine in that vulnerable, I-need-protection sort of way. The thing that interested Blaine the most though is why Kurt simply didn't just say he was a superhuman—well that, and why he felt the urge to protect Kurt.

"This is weird." Kurt mummers after a long sip of his coffee. "Isn't there some rule against giving coffee to the captive?"

"Well, your attempt to break into our defenses was so endearing, it's hard to be mad at you." Wes says gently. He hasn't told Blaine, but the lead soloist knows there's a lot more going on in Kurt's head. The only time Wes uses his gentle tone is if someone is experiencing a lot of pain and confusion. "You should relax Kurt, do we honestly look like the types to beat you up?"

Kurt shifted in his seat and shook his head. David smirks and leans onto his elbow. "So are you muggle-born? half-blood? Or pure-blood?"

The non-Dalton student raises and eyebrow, the nervous energy started breaking. "I'm sorry?"

"We use the Harry Potter terms around here since we're all huge fans. David and I are both pure-bloods, but Blaine here is a half-blood."

Kurt still doesn't look like he's following. In fact, he's now looking at each of the boys like they're crazy. Blaine immediately determines that this must mean Kurt grew up in a humanized environment and may not have even known there were people like him. That didn't make much sense though. GAIA always took special care to keep track of superhuman children born to human parents. And even if both sets of parents are human, the next viable option is that a grandparent must be so. In his head, unless Kurt's been sheltered all his life, it's impossible for him not to have at least had some contact with other superhuman's.

But Wes's smile falls from his face. His eyes shocked as he turns to David and then to Blaine. He doesn't believe it at first, and asks Kurt. "Kurt, you know you have powers don't you?"

Kurt's jaw drops, his pouty lips taunt and parted in surprise. His eyes—now an oceanic blue— grow as his eyelid lifts. Blaine tenses in his seat and only relaxes when Kurt gasps. "How did you know?"

Okay good, he at least he knew he had powers. It could have caused a lot of trouble as GAIA had a law about not relatives not informing kin of their abilities. A law that didn't have to be protected often due to the fact most people could figure out they had powers unless they were telekinetic or empathy related. And Wes's tone had indicated that Kurt's powers were well, pretty unique.

They still didn't know how to handle this. They all were raised in this world. They knew what was to happen when they reached puberty. None of them, Blaine especially, had ever met someone who wasn't a part of that world.

David, the most outgoing of the three, broke the silence. "I have superhuman strength. My dad does too. My mom has extreme flexibility and balance."

"You mean you…."

"Me too." Wes says with a small laugh. "I can read minds. And occasionally I can see the future too, but it doesn't happen very often. Visions just hit me sometimes or appear in my sleep. My mom's a mind and emotion reader and my dad can predict the future."

Kurt looked at Blaine expectedly. He smiled and shifted his coffee forward for Kurt to touch. Kurt's finger barely grazed it; he pulled back with a hiss. "I'm a pyrokinetic. Kind of like that movie Drew Barrymore was in as a kid—the one that wasn't ET." Blaine explains. "Like Wes said, only one of my parents has powers. My mom can control and manipulate emotions. My brother has powers too though. You might have heard of him…Cooper Anderson?"

"You mean the free-credit-rating-today guy?" Kurt responds, his mouth dropping again. "Oh my god, that's my ringtone!"

Blaine chuckles, despite the sheer jealously that slices through him. It's not so bothersome when a girl, or most of the time, even a guy gets star-struck by Cooper. For some reason, he really hates it that Kurt is so star struck. "Yeah, well…he got that part because he has compulsion powers. He can charm people into liking him and 'doing his bidding' his words. Not mine. I just happen to use them a lot."

Kurt smiles but shakes his head. "This is insane…this morning, I left the house certain I was a freak and I never expected to meet people like me." The sad, lonely tone in voice makes Blaine's heart break a little bit.

David tilted his head. "If you didn't know about the Warblers then why were you spying on us?"

Kurt flushes all over again. Wes starts to chuckle uncontrollably, something he's never done in front of Blaine or David. "Wow, really?"

"What?"

"He's a New Direction. He was scoping out the competition for Sectionals." Wes says through his laughter. Now Blaine and David are joining in. Kurt giggles a little bit. It's a high, melodic sound that reminds Blaine of Pavarotti when he sings.

They catch each other's eye. Blaine has had crushes before. More than he cared to admit. But Kurt is different. Kurt doesn't just make him smile or his stomach turn. Kurt makes him feel so many things just with everything he does. The way he laughs makes Blaine happy, the way his eyes change color captivates him, and well, the way he blushes so easily…. it sets off an entire collection of images he hopes Wes can't see.

He wants to be alone with Kurt and he can see Kurt, who's probably scared and unsure, wants the same thing. Blaine clears his throat and turns to Wes. "Um, could you guys give us a few minutes?"

Wes and David give each other a knowing glance before they stand with their drinks and leave the room. Kurt suddenly looks down at his coffee, fingers trembling against the table. It's not surprising. McKinley (or public schools in Ohio for that matter) wasn't exactly Heaven for a gay teen. Blaine knew that. Chances were Kurt got picked on every day just for being who he was—which was traumatic enough on it's own, but especially so when you knew just how different you were.

Blaine wants to touch his hand again, but thinks better of it. "So, we've been asking you a lot of questions. I'm sure you have things you want to ask….I thought maybe it'd be better one-on-one, so you're not so overwhelmed."

"I appreciate it, but I'm already pretty overwhelmed." Kurt answered honestly. He then bit his lip and looked up to Blaine. Eyes so afraid that Blaine was sure the next thing to come out of his mouth was deep and serious. "Are you all gay?"

Or…maybe he was about to ask Blaine if they were gay. Blaine laughed softly. "Not all of us no. A few of us though. I am." He then realizes that sounds so forward, that he quickly adds. "Jeff is too. Nick might be. Jury's still out there. Ross is."

Kurt nodded. "And…everyone here is okay with that?"

"Most are. Those who aren't keep it to themselves. Dalton has a zero-tolerance policy on bullying." Blaine leans forward, hands clasping together. "Are you being bullied at your school?"

Kurt doesn't answer. Doesn't have to. The watering in his eyes is enough to prove it. Kurt tries to sound strong as he tells Blaine. "I don't know if it's because I'm gay or if it's my powers or if people just know I'm different…but I've pretty much been called names and shoved around all my life. I thought I was use to it but…." Kurt swallowed and closed his eyes, reaching up to swipe away the tear. "There's one bully—it's gotten worse with him. I mean, it was always bad but then…"

Blaine blinks, his heart racing. "Does he know you have powers?"

"Yes….but I didn't use them on purpose. I didn't even comprehend that I had them at the time. He cornered me during one of our little back and forth's and he was going to hit me and I just…floated through the wall. He stopped bullying for a couple weeks and now, it's like I'm his personal target." Kurt opened his eyes, breath hitching as he asked. "Why? Is that bad?"

"Well, it's not ideal. GAIA doesn't like too many people knowing about us. My mom had to go through with a lot of testing and paperwork just to get engaged to my dad."

"No one believes him though." Kurt offers. He doesn't want to mention that Finn knows about his powers. Not now anyway. Blaine relaxes and the atmosphere feels safe again. "GAIA?"

"Government for Advanced Individuals of America. GAIA. It's sort of like our very own Ministry of Magic. My mom works there…I know this is all confusing but since you didn't know there other people like us, I'm guessing neither of your parents have powers?"

"My dad, no. Actually, I remember telling him about an incident when I was young and he thought I was just being creative. My mom—I don't think she was. She died when I was 8."

"I'm sorry." Blaine says politely. Kurt shrugs. He can't help but notice that Blaine has really been nothing but nice to him. Even after discovering that he was a spy from another school. "Well, um...I don't know if you're ready to know everything yet but do you want to leave your information and I can see if my mom can find anything out? You have the potential to inherit powers up to three generations away so maybe we'll find answers in the system."

"Yeah. Yeah actually, I would really like that." Kurt said, reaching into his bag to get a piece of paper. He was surprised when he looked up and Blaine had changed to the seat beside him, taking out his cell phone. "What are you doing?"

"Just smile." He says getting close to Kurt and lifting the phone at a angle. Kurt looks at the phone and manages a smile before it clicks and Blaine's looking at the picture. Satisfied, Blaine hands him the phone. "Here, just type your name and phone number in there. That way I can call you about what she finds."

Kurt takes a look at the photo and smiles. He had just met Blaine today, but to anyone looking at the photo they might have guessed that they were old friends. Blaine's adorable smile warming Kurt's heart even through the small screen. Kurt entered his information and handed the phone back to Blaine.

"Would you mind sending me a text so I can put you in my phone? Send me the picture, too? My hair looks good in it."

"Sure…And you can text me if you have anymore questions or call me too." Blaine tried not to blush at that comment. "Come on, I'll walk you out to your car."

And Blaine does just that. He walks Kurt out to his car, gives him a friendly hug (best friendly hug ever), and watches him drive off. He hasn't felt like this in a long time. So innocent and giddy. He didn't realize how much he missed that feeling until it happens.

He wonders if (preferably _when_) he sees Kurt again if he'll feel it.

**And tada! Chapter 3. I've gotten a lot of writing done these past few days…It's been pretty quiet at my campus though so that could be why. I hope Blaine and Kurt's attraction doesn't seem too terribly mushy or ridiculous or anything. If it does, please tell me! **

**Speaking of which, thank you for the reviews and also for the many, many alerts and favorites I've received. Makes me feel loved :) **

**Yaoilover1013- Thank you! It was a fun chapter to write, especially the fight scene between Blaine and Katherine. Blaine, especially this season, has been really passionate and angry so I think fire fits him well. Plus, it comes with steam, and heat, you know all the fun things in life. Hope you like the new chapter :)**


	4. Chapter 4

"Hey Blaine. How are you, baby?" His mother coos into the phone. Blaine rolls his eyes but smiles. He and his mom have always been close—or as close as you could be to someone when they worked as much as Robin Anderson did. He could practically see her balanced a stack of papers in her arms with the phone balanced between her ear and shoulder.

"Hi Mom. And I'm fine. Great actually." Blaine says settling on his bed, wearing his pajamas. "Listen, I met someone today…"

"Oh?"

"And…he's superhuman."

"A Warbler?"

"No, actually he was from another show choir. He was trying to spy on us. Wes found him out. His name's Kurt." And before his mom can go off into a speech about how maybe a relationship isn't the best thing for him right now (she does it every time he happens to mention one of his friends) he continues. "But mom he didn't know that they were other superhumans. He said he never met anyone like us before."

There's a long pause on the phone. "Outside of his parents?"

Blaine shook his head even though she couldn't see him. "Well, he said his dad didn't have any abilities. Actually, I don't think his dad even knows about his powers. His mom might but he doesn't know—she died awhile ago."

"Interesting." Robin responded. A 'huh' following the phrase. "You said his name was Kurt?"

"Yeah, Kurt Hummel."

"Alright well, I'm working late at GAIA tonight so maybe I'll run a check during my break and see if I find anything." Robin said. "Listen, sweetie, I have to go but I'm glad you called. I love you and…"

"I know the speech, Mom." Blaine cutoff.

"Actually, I was going to say call your father, but that's always good to know."

Blaine sighed. "Okay, I'll call him." He never does. "I love you too."

He hangs up the phone and yawns. His late night from before and the excitement of the day catching up with him. Blaine leans back against the bed and flicks the lamp light off. He thinks about sending Kurt a confirmation text or just a text to say how nice it was to meet him, but he's just too tired. Besides, he was sure Kurt was still jittery about everything he had learned today.

Blaine decided he'd text the boy tomorrow and drifted off to sleep. A thankfully dreamless one.

()()()()()()()

Robin Anderson was well regarded in her profession. What started out a secretary job had flourished into a well-paying career and high amount of respect. Well, respect from everyone except her boss, Andre Moretta. The man had been getting on her back in recent years so naturally, she was stuck working another late night.

Not that she minded too much—with both her boys out of the house and her marriage currently not on the best of terms. Actually, a better description was the family was on shaky ground. Blaine was mad at his father, her husband was mad at Blaine, and god forbid if she tried to talk to Floyd about it; she'd be the bad guy. The superhumans in the house were against him after all. She wants to go back to the time when her powers excited him rather than made him distrustful.

A whole slew of thoughts hit her and it became clear she was going to need a break. Now was just as good as time as ever to look up this Kurt Hummel.

Robin accessed the category system and typed in the name. Entering alternative spellings, the state, but no other information. It was a different enough name combination that she didn't think it'd be too hard to find him in the system. She might have lectured Blaine about getting so involved with someone, especially considering what had happened years ago, but from the way it sounded, this may be a rather odd case.

She would never forget the night Blaine had lost control. It was the stuff nightmares were made out of—seeing your baby distraught and completely void of compassion, setting things on fire. Setting people on fire. Robin tried to remind herself that Blaine had just been the victim of an attack and it had been a lapse of control, but if she hadn't pulled Blaine out of trance he would have never stopped. Frankly, if she hadn't subdued him after he discovered his friend was dead, he might have continued. Because of this, Robin wanted him to learn to control his emotions before he even thought about taking on another relationship and the baggage that was sure to come with it.

The computer made a noise and she peered at the results.

**0 results. **

"What the hell?" She whispered. That was impossible. From the moment they were born, every superhuman had been logged into the computer. Maybe their logs weren't always up to date but if GAIA had anything to do with it, they kept tabs on every superhuman—to make sure they were under control and not making a scene.

She tried restricting the search to Hummel. No hits again. Frustrated, Robin switched over to Google and typed the name in, along with Ohio and searched for results.

The first thing that popped up was an article from 8 years ago. Robin clicks on it and is immediately met with a picture of a totaled—to put it mildly—car. Even though it was dark when the picture was taken, she can see the dripping black of car oil and gas on the ground, while blood seemed to cake the car itself. How this ever was allowed to be in a newspaper, she didn't know. She scrolled down to read the actual story.

_Tragedy struck Lima, Ohio over the weekend when 39-year-old Vincent Lark drove his car head on into a car containing 33-year-old Elizabeth Hummel, and her 8-year- old son Kurt Hummel while driving on the Interstate. Both Lark and Hummel were pronounced dead at the scene, but Kurt Hummel is currently listed as critical condition at Hope-Horizon Hospital. _

There was a picture at the bottom of the boy in his hospital bed and Robin cringed again. If she had any doubt that Kurt was superhuman before, the pictures she saw now proved it. No human could have survived this condition. There wasn't so much a child lying in the bed, as there were broken remains of flesh and blood. She couldn't imagine being able to deal with it if Blaine or Cooper had been there.

She manages to find Elizabeth's maiden name and exits out of the article before she gets too sick. She goes back to the search engine and enters Elizabeth Keefe into the system but before she can hit enter, the aura suddenly changes.

"This doesn't look like work." Robin turns and standing behind her is Andre Moretta. The man stands at a mere 5,10 but is all muscle and gruff. His tanned features make him stand out so much more than he actually does, his eyes a burnt umber. He's handsome in a rather unconventional way. At least, she used to think so. Lately, he's been such a hard-ass; she's begun to resent him.

"I was doing a little personal research during my break, since when is that a problem?"

"Since we didn't build the entire GAIA system for your entertainment, _Anderson_." He says the name with such distain, that Robin glares just a little bit harder. "Whatever, just keep it in your break time. Plenty of people would kill for your job, you know."

Robin shakes her head as Andre walks away. God, what had she ever seen in him? Between her husband and the history she had with Andre, she was beginning to wonder if her tastes in men were just little off.

But now that he was away, she was allowed to play. She hit the enter button and was shocked to find once again, there were no results. She tries just Keefe and this time, is a little less shocked when nothing comes up. Now she's just frustrated. As far as the GAIA system is concerned, Kurt doesn't exist. Or maybe it's that he shouldn't exist.

She's seen the proof. She knows Kurt not only exists but is defiantly superhuman on some level. Robin toys with the idea that maybe the system is on the fritz and types Blaine's name just to test it.

Sure enough, his profile jumps up. A picture taken last year jumping up on screen along with his information.

_Name: Blaine Robert Anderson_

_D.O.B: February 5__th__, 1994 (16 years currently)_

_Sex: Male_

_S.S.I.D.N.: #303994_

_Mother: Robin Grace Anderson n__é__e Cooper_

_Father: Floyd Lee Anderson (Human)_

And her eye caught the last part. The part of the entry she had changed so long ago. The guilt that spread through her body was only subdued with the assurance that this was for the best. It was better for everyone if the people she was hiding it from never knew the truth.

_Ability: Empathy_

()()()()()()()

He gave all members of the New Directions the same story (Parts of it anyway. He tells everyone that they found out he was a New Direction but gave him coffee and advice, of course leaving out the conversation they had about superhumans). It inspired different reactions. The guys teased him for blowing his cover while the girls begged for more details about the time he spent with Blaine. It was practically the subject of the lunch table.

"Wait, go back. He actually took a picture with you? To put in his phone?" Rachel squealed. Kurt couldn't help the blush that grew across his face. "Oh my god! That's soooo cute!"

"Never mind cute. You put the moves on him right, Kurt? I mean, he gave you coffee, you had to have flirted a little with him something in return." Mercedes throws in. Kurt rolls his eyes but doesn't really have an answer. He wouldn't call what happened with him and Blaine flirting, at least no intentionally, but he could tell there was something there. A spark had set off inside every time he looked at Blaine, and while he wasn't an expert on flirting, he knew the feeling was somewhat mutual. "Come on boy, how do you expect to escape the fate of the miserable cat man if you're not even going to flirt a little?"

"Sorry, I don't make a habit of flirting with strangers."

"Do you have the picture he took? I want to see what he looks like." Tina said. Kurt nodded and reached into his pocket to grab his phone, only to see that he had a text message from Blaine. Kurt opened it and read it.

**Blaine: How are you feeling today? I was hoping if you were up for it, we could meet for coffee again. Maybe this time, outside of Dalton? **

Kurt's stopped himself before his breath could hitch. He was hoping he was up for it? He wanted to meet him for coffee again? Outside of school? Kurt closed his eyes for a minute. _Calm down, he's probably just being nice again._ Nonetheless, Kurt typed a response.

**Kurt: Hmm, do you treat all the captured spies like this? Because I could get use to it.**

Once the text is sent, he then pulls up the picture Blaine texted him yesterday. The girls all lean over the table to look. Tina and Rachel's jaws dropped while Mercedes whistled. "Damn, I call dibs on spying next time."

"Wow Kurt, he's gorgeous! How could you not flirt with him?" Rachel asked. Kurt blushed and retracted the phone when another message appeared.

"I said I didn't make a habit of flirting with strangers. He could have been the exception." Kurt teased in that don't kiss and tell sort of way. He read the latest message sent by Blaine.

**Blaine: Nope, just the adorable ones ;) So, is that a yes?**

"I know that smile Kurt Hummel. You're talking to him now, aren't you?" Rachel said trying to lean over the table. Kurt brings the phone closer to his body but secretly, he loves the attention. He was great to be the 'topic' of the lunch table conversation for once instead of only contributing. He'd like to show them the texts but he's afraid Blaine might say something about his powers and it was pretty clear yesterday that GAIA (at least, that's what he thought Blaine called it) didn't like when humans knew about their powers.

Without warning, a figure wrapped itself around Kurt. He jumped and looked up, Brittany attached to his shoulder with a forlorn look her face. "Kurtie, I'm sad…"

"What's the matter, Britt?" He asked. He used the distraction to lower the phone under the table so he could type a reply.

**Kurt: I guess I am still your captive. Not that I'm complaining. When and where?**

"Santana isn't here again, and I think she's mad at me because I rode in Artie's lap to Glee yesterday. It's just so much easier than walking."

"Don't change the subject Kurt! Brittany has a crisis every other day. Last week, it was the cat ate her bracelet." Mercedes declared, looking up at Brittany. "No offense, but Kurt has a new boy."

"A new boy?...Wait, you can buy boys?" She said, sitting down on the other side of Kurt. "How much did you pay for him, let me see!"

"Alright, hold on." Kurt said as another message appeared.

**Blaine: I like to go to the Lima Bean. How about at 4?**

**Kurt: Sounds great. This time I'll leave the spy jacket at home.**

He then showed Brittany a picture, she gasped. "Aw! I love it! Me and Santana use to do pictures like this all time." Then she slouched, remembering why she had been upset. Kurt sighed and pat his shoulder for Brittany to lean on.

Another text arrived and he shifted it so he could look at it without Brittany seeing.

**Blaine: Aw man, I loved the jacket! Totally made me feel like Bond catching the sexy spy.**

Kurt flushed all over again. Brittany looked up. "Kurt, why are you breathing so hard?"

"Oh, I can think of a few reason." Tina laughed, nudging Kurt's with her own. "Get it boy!"

"It's not like that." He murmured, typing out a request.

**Kurt: Does that mean I'm suppose to seduce you?**

The bell rang signaling the end of lunch. Kurt stood and gathered his things, making a line away from the jocks and more importantly, away from Karofsky. He was half-way to his World History class when he got another text from Blaine.

**Blaine: Try as you may, but I have ways of making you talk…**

Kurt was caught off guard when he suddenly went colliding into the locker, dropping his phone against the ground. Karofsky and Azimio laughing. Karofsky dared to take a look back at him. Looking smug and accomplished.

Kurt glared right back. He then reached out his hand and motioned the phone into it. Karofsky's smile fell and turned away once again. Kurt knew it wasn't exactly smart given what Blaine had told him yesterday, but he made sure Karofsky had been the only looking. He shouldn't have wanted to see the fear his powers brought so much but it was something he couldn't control. He couldn't stop the abundance of pride he felt in his chest, nor could he escape the shame when he saw Blaine's face later.

Just this once though, he sided with the pride.

()()()()()()()

Blaine had wondered if that feathery-light feeling would return when he saw Kurt again. Now that Kurt was approaching him in the parking lot, it's almost stronger than yesterday. He had traded up the makeshift uniform for a baby blue button-up shirt beneath a bright white vest. The shirt was tucked into a pair of faded skinny jeans that just wrapped around every muscles and asset, this all tied off with a pair of white loafers that should have looked ridiculous but seemed to complete the ensemble. Yeah, he didn't miss the jacket anymore.

"Hey there. Have any trouble finding this place?" Blaine says, opening the door for Kurt. Kurt mutters thanks and goes in quickly, turning around to wait for Blaine to enter with him.

"Not really. I've been here with Rachel and Mercedes a few times. We stopped coming because—and I don't know how they manage it, they make the coffee way too hot." But Kurt had a feeling that was the very reason Blaine had picked this place. "I mean, how can coffee possibly be too hot?"

"I don't know. Usually, I have to microwave mine a few times just to get it remotely close to how I like it." Blaine added as they stood in line. Standing close but not too close together. They did just meet yesterday after all. Besides, Blaine's not entirely comfortable with giving the illusion they're a couple.

"Do…do you have to drink things that are hot? Like will you die if someone gives you cold milk?" Blaine laughs at what he assumed to be a joke. He looks at Kurt, who has his eyebrow up and curses himself. Why would Kurt know any better? A few days ago, pyrokinetics didn't even exist as far as he was concerned.

"I'm sorry, I just forget this is all new for you. No, I won't die if I drink or eat things that are cold, but they don't exactly appeal to me. Cold in general makes me uncomfortable."

"Huh. Winter must be hell."

"Ironic. But yeah it is." They reached the counter and both made their orders. Kurt got out his wallet to pay for the drink but Blaine had his card ran through for the both of them. Blaine just smiled and winked. "It's on me today."

Kurt didn't know what was more exciting—that Blaine had paid for him, that Blaine had winked at him, or that Blaine had said today as if to suggest he didn't want this to be a one-time thing. Either way, he thanked Blaine and followed him to a table. They decided one in the corner by the window. Close enough to be in the sun, yet far enough that no one would listen in on them.

"Has your mom found anything yet? I went through some of my mom's stuff, but I couldn't find anything that suggested she had powers. Not even the journal she had as a girl."

"No, but my mom might have been busy. She's been working a lot of hours at GAIA lately. She said she'd let me know what's going on."

Kurt lifted the cup to his lips and took a small sip. Blaine's eyes followed the movement of Kurt's throat. God, when had he become such a gawker? It was true, he was a teenage boy and he had those urges and he addressed frequently (one of the many perks of having your own room at a boarding school) but it was like Kurt awoke something entirely different in him. Something so conflicting but good that it honestly made him uncomfortable with how vulnerable he felt.

Kurt then pressed a napkin to his lips before he started. "So, I'm curious… You sound pretty certain I have to be related to someone with powers, but didn't you guys say it was possible for two humans to have a super-baby?"

Blaine chuckles at the term. "Yes it is, but it has to be in the bloodline somewhere. Powers can be inherited from as far back as four generations. As in, if you have one great-grandparent with powers, that's all it would take for you to have powers, but anything beyond that, you've pretty much bred out the gene unless you hypothetically married someone who had superpowers in their family too. Then there'd be enough for you to potentially have a super-baby." Blaine explained. Kurt seemed to follow along well, which made it more helpful for Blaine to explain. "That being said, the gene is so dominant that's it really difficult to breed out. Even though my dad was human, there was still a 75-80% chance that I would inherit powers. But some of it also depends on how strong your powers are."

"On how strong?" Kurt asked.

"Yeah…. Like the chances of me passing on my pyrokinetic abilities are much higher than say, of someone who could just sense auras. With that in mind, if that person and I got together and had a baby, there's a chance our powers would overlap, but more than likely our kid would be a pyrokinetic too."

"So, what your parents have effect what you may have?"

"Usually but there are exceptions. Sometimes something further down your bloodline can make a return, which is what my mom thinks happen with me. I'd rather believe that I'm just awesome." Blaine teased before taking a sip of his coffee. Kurt smirked.

"And modest too." Kurt's breath airy and fun as he laughed. Not as nice as the laugh he used yesterday, but it still sent a thrill down Blaine's spine. "I guess I can't argue. You kind of saved my day."

Blaine paused and lowered his coffee cup; he saw something change in Kurt immediately and became concerned. "Why? Are you still having a hard time with what happened yesterday?"

"Oh no, nothing like that! Believe me, you don't know how happy I am that I've found people like me." Kurt bits his lip, and suddenly all the dirty thoughts from yesterday are back in Blaine's head. They faded quickly however when Kurt told him the truth. "It's just that bully I was telling you about…He targeted me again."

Blaine frowned. His fist clenching. "What did he do?"

"He shoved me into a locker again. Nearly broke my phone." Kurt reached into his pocket and put the phone on the table. Blaine saw where the protective cover had cracked. "I just—I don't get it. Yeah, okay…he hates gays, but it's not like I go out of my way to be in his face or anything. It can't be my powers because he's afraid of those. I just don't get it."

"Sometimes there's no reason for it…" Blaine offers lamely. He hated that phrase everything happens for a reason. In his opinion, it was so wrong to believe that innocent people were murdered or maimed every day because it was just the way things were meant to be. People were in control of their thoughts and destiny—some people just used it for evil. Blaine had done some terrible stuff. Now he had to live with it. "You know, if it ever gets really bad…you could always come to Dalton."

Kurt eyes softened. "I appreciate the sentiment. I do…but I think I'd miss my friends at McKinley too much. And even if I didn't have them, my parents can't afford for me to go to boarding school."

"We have scholarships—that is if you ever change your mind. It's not right what he's doing Kurt and you shouldn't have to take it. You're so much stronger than I would have been if I had dealt with what you had in the past 24 hours." Blaine says. He can tell by the way Kurt's face lights up—not blushes, but lights up—that it means a lot to hear that. "In the mean time, just have courage."

"Well, that should be too hard to have, you know, being superhuman and all." Kurt replies, the smile returning to his face. Blaine realizes something after a moment or so.

"You know, Wes never told me what your powers were. You told you could walk through walls, is that all you can do?" And if it is, Blaine will be a little disappointed because Wes made it sound like Kurt might be the messiah.

"Oh, no that's not it." And while Blaine looks relieved, Kurt looks a little bit uncomfortable. He stares at his nearly empty coffee cup; summoning the courage to talk about something he was use to keeping secret. "I can move things from far away, but I have to able to lift them with my physical body for it to work. I can also make myself transparent. I had planned on that as my escape method yesterday but you Warblers charmed me."

Blaine raises and eyebrow and tilts his head back. "I told you, we're modern day 007's." Kurt rolls his eyes and mutters something about Blaine being a goober. Blaine decides to take the opportunity to ask. "Could I maybe see you use them?"

Before Kurt can disagree, Blaine's golden hazel eyes are widening and a pout is subconsciously forming. Kurt begins to realize that this must be Blaine's method of getting what he wants. It's working, because Kurt thinks of a way to show Blaine his abilities in public.

He raises his hand up and motions for his coffee cup to lift into his hand. This isn't anything really new or special to Blaine—Miller could do it too. But to Blaine, watching Kurt use his powers—watching the way his glasz eyes seemed to dull to a lighter blue, and the stronger intakes of breath Kurt uses—it feels like he's just blown Blaine's mind.

And maybe he has. Just not in the way expected. Kurt cockily grasps his cup and drinks what's left of it. "And if you want to see more than that now, Mr. Bond, you're going to have to torture me…"

**And there's chapter 4! Focused a little more on Blaine's mom than I intended, but she does play a somewhat bigger role in this. Just wish it didn't make this chapter so long, but it's still so much fun to write. **

**As usual, thank you so much for the kind reviews, alerts and favorites. Got a lot more reviews for this chapter than I intended but I'm not complaining :) I love me some reviews.**

**dante's leading lady- Oh gosh, thank you! It's a little unlike anything I've ever written before, but I love it. Very relieved that the characters are developing well (and I hope staying in character when they can). Hope you continue to enjoy it.**

**Khrystaline- Thanks! This story's kind of hard to stop writing, hence all the recent updates :) Can't say if they'll continue going this fast, but I hope so. **

**yailover1013- It's one of my favorite episodes! I sort of wanted to incorporate scenes that actually happened in the show while portraying them differently to fit the story line. Oh, I'm sure they were very dirty thoughts—we all know Blaine's innocent dapper-boy persona is just a front, lol. Thanks!**

**MilkTeaLord- Glad to hear it! Thank you for reviewing. **

**Miss jayne76- Thank you very much! As you can tell, people haven't had to wait long for chapters, lol.**

**MegumiDarkAurora- Oh good! I was so worried that they would come off as too mushy too soon in the fanfic since they weren't quite that much in the show. And I totally understand! That episode was so sad, yet so good! Overall I was happy with the ending but it kind of changes the way you look at Blaine. Oh, I couldn't stand Sebastian (which is funny because I really love Grant Gustin) when he came on, but I have big plans for him. Thanks for the review :)**

**AAJ Edward- Aw, thank you so much! I always get excited when a favorite story of mine updates, so that's one of the biggest compliments I could get as a fanfiction writer.**

**KyoxRaine- Thank you! Honestly, I'm a little anxious to get them together, so the wait may not be long. Of course, I have to do it in a timely manner that seems believable (very hard to do when all you want is for them to be together and stay that way forever), but I hope you continue to enjoy it.**

**DemitriMP- I agree, they are pretty much the cutest couple in existence. Although I might suggest you give the dentist bill to Ryan Murphy (or maybe send it to Darren and write your number on it. If that works, totally let me know). Thanks for reviewing! And don't worry, Sebastian will be a problem but perhaps not in the way everyone thinks…or maybe it is, lol, we'll have to wait and see!**


	5. Chapter 5

Wes really hated being a psychic in a school of all boys—hormone driven, sex loving, apparently can't keep their minds off boobs or asses boys. The only thing that kept him going was that he had learned to better control his powers so not every thought jumped at him. That and it was better than dealing with going to school with a bunch of 13 year olds. God, he had seen some pretty messed up things…

But it still happened, Usually during class when someone was bored or during Warblers practice when the council was talking. This occurrence however, happened while being sandwiched between Blaine and Jeff as they worked on their study guides. Not that study guides are the most interesting thing in the world to work on but usually, he doesn't have to worry about reading Blaine or Jeff's thoughts accidently.

He notes however, that Jeff is rather tired, stretching his limbs every so often and yawning. Jeff sometimes gets distracted enough where Wes will catch a thought. His powers made him sensitive to energy and had him instinctively thinking of ways to use it to his advantage. Blaine is the surprising one. He's sleepy too, eyes dreary as they tried to focus on the paper. Wes especially doesn't make a habit of listening to Blaine's thoughts. He's seen the nightmares Blaine's had about his night at the Sadie Hawkins dance. A quick flash of fire and destruction before Wes actually forced himself away. He knows when Blaine is tired; it usually means he's had a nightmare.

But when Wes notices Blaine looking down in his lap and at his phone. A smile stretches across his face. The moment of concentration is enough for Wes to focus. _No shit? Marion Cotillard too? _Wes smiles, realizing that Blaine is talking to Kurt.

In the almost two weeks since Kurt was caught spying on the Warblers, it was all the pyrokinetic could talk about. And apparently, think about too as Wes saw visions of late last night where Kurt and Blaine were texting well into the night which was the real reason Blaine was so tired. Wes should have been mad at his friend for his irresponsible behavior or for texting during class or even just talking to the enemy, but Wes does like Kurt and really, he thinks it's good for both of them to have each other.

Blaine gets another text and his eyes darken slightly. Another vision is pushing at Wes's walls but he can see the vague outline of it. Oh god, now Blaine was starting to have fantasies too. Fantasies about Kurt even. Wes decides if he's going to avoid seeing an awkward thought, he's going to have to switch focus. He leans over closer to Jeff, and frowns.

Naturally Jeff is replaying his latest escapade too. Fantastic.

It's a little easier to see than Blaine's, so he's not entirely convinced it's a wet dream, nor is he sure it actually happened. Jeff isn't shy about his sexuality but he's been crushing on Nick lately. Well, that was really downplaying it. Jeff pined for Nick every second of every day. It was sort of nauseating. It would have been heartbreaking if Wes didn't hear Nick's thoughts and knew that the feeling was very much neutral even if he couldn't admit it yet.

But the boy in the vision isn't Nick, so it's shocking. Wes still has no desire to watch his friends get it on. He stands and starts to form an excuse so he can go and clear his head when he catches a good look at the boy in Jeff's mind. Now he can't turn away. He's seen that face. Not just in Jeff's head, but in another person's dreams too. The smile that promised good feelings and bad decisions. The eyes that narrowed dangerously even in the throws of sex. So different from the other vision he had been in.

"Wes, are you alright?" Blaine asked looking up. Wes peered down at his friend. Unsure of what to say. How did you tell someone that their friend was currently envisioning having sex with someone that had appeared in Blaine's dreams? Especially knowing exactly how Blaine would react.

"Yeah, just…I need to get out for a minute." And Wes grabbed his bag and study guide and walked out the door. Since Blaine had just been thinking about him and Kurt, maybe he would just assume Wes would saw it and that was the reason he was so jumpy. For once, he hoped Blaine made that assumption.

Because he would lose it if he really knew what Wes saw.

()()()()()()()

"Hey dad." Kurt's standing at the doorway in the living room. He's been watching Burt watch t.v. for nearly ten minutes, trying to work up the courage to talk to his father about what he needs to talk about. Despite being nearly polar opposites, Kurt and his dad have always been close. Burt had accepted Kurt with open arms when the teen finally told him he was gay and honestly, he didn't know why he thought his dad would be anything but. Kurt chalked it up to the added secret of his powers and the fact that Burt worried so much about Kurt and had every day since the accident.

"Hey buddy." Burt says, his tone happy even though his eyes are still focused on the television. Kurt walks over and takes a spot on the couch closest to Burt's chair. He had planned this so Finn and Carole would be out of the house. Kurt defiantly thought of them as family, but this was something between him and his dad. "What's on your mind?"

"I was wondering. Did mom keep any family records or anything? Stuff about my grandparents?"

"Erm, I don't know Kurt, I don't think your mom was on good terms with her parents when she died. I've never met them." Burt finally turned to face his son. "Why do you want to know?"

"Um, project." Kurt covered quickly. Burt gave his son the 'oh please' look Kurt had inherited from him. "You never met them? Not even at your wedding?"

"Well, Kurt we didn't exactly have a big wedding, but it was mostly my family and a few of her friends. Kurt, what is this all really about? Have you been having nightmares about the accident again?" Burt sat forward so he could better face Kurt. Kurt wanted to shake his head but just stared into his father's eyes instead. He wanted to pour out his heart. Tell his dad about Blaine and his powers and Karofsky and everything else on his mind. But he didn't know if he could. And even if he could, would his father believe him? He didn't the first time.

"No, I just… I've just been realizing how little I know about her." Which wasn't necessarily a lie. "And it's not that I don't believe you but…They didn't call you about her death? Come to the funeral? Tried to see me?"

Burt sighed and gave him an apologetic look. "I don't know what to tell you kiddo. I never talked to them and your mom never talked about them. She'd always change the subject when I asked so I just assumed there was bad blood between them. For all I know, if your grandparents are still alive they may not even know you exist. I'm sorry I can't tell you more."

Kurt groaned and slammed back down against the couch. Why was it so hard to find answers? It was bad enough that he had only found two weeks ago that superhumans existed and he wasn't a freak—it was just plain aggravating that he couldn't find anything within his own family.

Burt couldn't have understood, but he pats Kurt's shoulder and pretended he did. He smiled gently at Kurt who just rolled his head away. "Do you remember the dresser mom had in her room? The one we didn't take with us?" Kurt said with a wince. He had been so mad when his father had told him they were moving from the family house to get a new house with Finn and Carole and that he thought it'd be better to find a new home for the dresser. It was one of their larger arguments about the remarriage. Eventually after the apologies were said, Mercedes agreed to take it. Kurt occasionally leaned down and smelled it when they had sleepovers at her house. "I don't know if it was because of the crash or if I was young but…That dresser and her smell were the only things I could really remember about her. Sure, I can see her smile. I know what her eyes were like. I can see that in pictures but…It's like she's not here anymore."

To Kurt, the statement sounds so stupid. Of course she's not here anymore. She's dead. But he always felt a physical presence with him. Like she was looking after him. But now in recent years, since the bullying and the advancement of his powers, he can barely remember a thing about her. Maybe it was because he stopped believing in certain things or because for whatever reason, it seemed like she stopped protecting him.

Burt had switched off the t.v. at some point. An arm wrapped around Kurt and held him close. "She's still here, kiddo. I know it's been hard to see that with Carole and Finn around and with you growing up, but she is. You may not remember much about her Kurt, but I can tell you she loved you a lot. She loved you more than anything."

Kurt allowed himself to be childish for a minute and leaned on his father's shoulder. He wished all over again he could just tell his father everything. Tell him why he really wanted to know about his mother's family. Kurt remembered Blaine saying that humans were allowed to know if GAIA permitted, otherwise Blaine wouldn't be here.

Maybe one day he could tell him. Until then, this was close enough.

()()()()()()()

Robin had been at Dalton a few times. Usually, Blaine just came home for the weekend or on break for visits since she worked so often. Today, she had to go talk to him in person.

She tried to get Floyd to come with her but he made up some excuse about fixing the car. An argument had erupted and Robin stormed out. She could have easily just planted an emotion in him but honestly it didn't mean anything if he really didn't want to go. Besides, when they were suppose to be in a marriage of equals, it felt like unfair to use her abilities on him. It would confirm what he believed anyway.

Blaine was waiting on the steps for her. She crossed the parking lot and brought him into his arms. "Hey baby."

"Hi mom." Blaine pulled away and Robin touched his cheek. Warm to touch, always warm. She smiled as he offered her arm. "Shall we?"

"We shall."

Blaine took his mother to the common area where the Warblers frequented, introducing his mother to the members she didn't know and allowing her to say hi to the one's she did. Eventually, they picked a couch in front of the fireplace where Robin could sit and set down her briefcase. Blaine made sure his mother had a cup of tea and was completely comfortable before he sat beside her. "So, what did you find on Kurt?"

Robin swished the tea around her mouth, unsure of how to go about this. She swallowed and told him. "Nothing."

"As in…you didn't find his mom in the system?" Blaine asked confused.

"As in, I didn't find him. Nothing on him or his parents in the system. As far as GAIA is concerned, there's no superhuman named Kurt Hummel."

Blaine gave his mom a very stern look. "Except there _is_. He showed me his powers, Mom."

"And I believe you, honey." Robin responded, reaching for her briefcase. She wasn't going to show him this quite yet, having a feeling she'd know what reaction she'd get from him, but now seemed like just as good as time as any. She pulled out the article of the car accident she had printed and extended it towards Blaine. Blaine looked at it curiously before he took it and looked it over. She winced as his form tensed. His face contorting with disgust and what appeared to be heartbreak. Oh no, Robin realized, this was much more than she thought it was. "Blaine, sweetie…"

"He should be dead." Blaine said quietly. Robin placed a hand on his shoulder and rubbed reassuringly.

"He's been through a lot…You both have. Which is why…"

"Mom, don't."

"It may not be the best idea…"

"Mother…"

"Blaine." She said, raising her tone to get him to stop running away. Blaine threw the article down and crossed his arms. Looking very much like a child who had been told to clear his plate before leaving the dinner table. "I understand you care for this boy, but I don't like this situation. You've only known him for two weeks. You don't know anything about him. No one does!"

"So what? I'm just supposed to stop talking to him? Leave him to figure this all out by himself?" Blaine said rather incredulously. The other few Warblers who had been in the room had taken it upon themselves to clear out. Robin didn't like that; it gave way to the possibility of a fight.

"Now I didn't say that. All I'm saying is that almost two years ago you got involved with someone and they ran their mouth and look what happened." Blaine looked away from her, jaw clenching.

"So we just should have just let them call us fags? Sorry I didn't get the memo. I'll just be quiet from now on, does that work for you?" Blaine practically growled. Robin rolled her eyes.

"I didn't mean it like that, Blaine. Maybe I'm being insensitive but I've watched you struggle with it. Remember those 3 weeks you barely left your room? Huh? Do you remember how many spells I had to cast on you just so you'd sleep? How many times you'd wake up screaming anyway? Do you remember that?"

Blaine felt his eyes start to water. "How could I forget"

"Then what happens if this Kurt turns out to be something more than he seems? What if you fall in love with someone and something happens to him or god forbid, something happens to you?" Robin face softened, with a sigh she reached for his hand. "Until we know what's going on with him…I really prefer it if you don't get romantically involved with him."

Blaine laughed, trying to shake his head of the tears that threatened to spill. He picked up the article and tossed it into his mother's lap. "You sound just like Dad, you know that? Don't worry, I think we both know the last thing he needs right now is a boyfriend…I have to go study. Bye Mom."

He stood up and stomped away. Robin tried calling after him but he didn't turn around. With an aggravated huff, she grabbed her briefcase and escorted herself out of Dalton. It would seem she'd have to do more research on this Kurt Hummel if she wanted to protect her son.

()()()()()()()

Blaine was halfway back to his room when he saw David in the hallway, talking to Nick. Blaine's stance told him everything. David sighed. "I'll set it up…" Blaine nodded his thanks and returned to his dorm room. He paced twice before throwing his fist directly into the wall. The pain shooting from his knuckles and up his arm as a flash of fire exploded and died. A sprinkling of discoloration where he had punched the wall. He didn't care, he was angry.

It wasn't so much that his mom had warned him against seeing Kurt that made him upset. It was the fact she had tried to play dirty. It wasn't the best feeling because most of the time, between his powers and his father, she was his only ally. But to have her use that incident of all things to try and keep him away from Kurt?

Then the other thing that made him upset—she was right on some level. The last thing Kurt needed right now was a boyfriend. A mentor? Sure. A friend? Defiantly. A boyfriend? No. And Blaine felt his heart ache because in such a short time, Kurt had subjugated everything. His senses. His emotions. His dreams even.

They weren't real, but Blaine had felt him against his body and in his bed. The feeling was glorious in fantasy so he couldn't even imagine in real life. Which was entirely insane to think about someone you knew for a period of two weeks, but god knew, he wanted it, but nearly as much as he wanted to help Kurt.

Blaine started taking his clothes off to change into his fighting garb. He needed a night at fight club. Just to take the edge off his anger and apparently, sexual tension. He checked his phone to see if David had text him yet. Instead, he was face to face with a text from Kurt.

**Kurt- Hmm, tough one. I'd have to say Wicked though. Definitely my favorite. I almost got the Defying Gravity solo once. What about you?**

Blaine couldn't help but smile at the response to an early text. They had been text-messaging questions back and forth all day. This one was in response to when Blaine had asked Kurt what his favorite musical was.

David's text message came through but for a moment, he ignored it so he could answer Kurt's.

**Blaine- Toss up between West Side Story and Next to Normal. You can pick which one ;)**

Blaine sighed; he really had to stop doing that. It wasn't exactly cool to flirt with someone you just decided you couldn't see right now. This was going to be hard.

()()()()()()()

Kurt had never considered it before. Not even when the possibility of regeneration crossed his mind. Kurt's always taken care of his skin and body, perhaps starting from when he was 10 and starting to question his mental health. Later on when he learned he had powers, Kurt hadn't allowed himself to think it because he didn't want to chance ruining his skin when really, only online sources had told him it might be possible for him to heal himself.

So why exactly was he standing in front of the mirror? Holding a razor he didn't have to use right now since he had shaved earlier. He had suspicions his body could fix itself faster than others since he had never found a bruise on his body from Karofsky nor had he with all his rigorous, sometimes reckless, dancing in Glee club had he suffered any injury-related pain for more than an hour or so. Before, it had been one of those things where it wasn't worth the potential of damaging his skin to find out, but lately with all the secrets surrounding him and his powers, he had this sudden desire to know. He needed to know.

He lowered the razor against the top of his arm, away from his wrist to avoid anything too dangerous. Kurt closed his eyes and counted to three before slicing down his arm

He dropped the razor with a gasp. "Shit…" He hadn't expected to hurt that much. Or for it to look so ghastly as blood started to leak from the long cut. Kurt leaned over to grab toilet paper from the roll and pressed it to the cut as much as he could. Okay, maybe it wasn't one of his brighter ideas.

Kurt removed the toilet paper, reluctant to survey the damage. He dropped the paper instead when he saw that his skin was already healing itself. Coming together like fabric being sewed and skin forming over it. All that was left was a pink scar and Kurt had a feeling that would be gone in a manner of hours.

It wasn't exactly something to feel accomplished about, but it did make Kurt feel better to feel he had a little more of a grasp on his abilities. He could officially add regeneration to the list of things he could do. He finished his nightly routine and walked back into his bedroom to text Blaine about it.

He smiled when he saw Blaine had already texted him. Twice. The first one answering his question about Broadway musicals (and he had made two very good choices but Kurt was likely going to respond with West Side story) and another one that didn't make him so happy.

Blaine- Hey, I won't be able to text again until tomorrow. Have a goodnight.

Kurt was confused. Blaine had always ended his texts goodnight with some cheesy pick up line or a meaningful final thought. This just seemed too distant for Kurt. An unsettling feeling rattling in his stomach.

Calm down, Kurt told himself; he probably didn't have the time to end the text properly. Though he hadn't told Kurt he had something to do tonight. Kurt just sunk back into his bed and turned the lights off. Trying not to think of Blaine, but not able to think about anything else. Now that he really thought about it, Blaine had been everything in or on his mind since the moment they met. It was actually crazy to think of how much he liked Blaine already considering how much it usually took people just to get him to open up.

But Blaine was so hard to push away, especially when he was so confused. Kurt sighed and buried his head deeper into his pillow.

He needed Blaine, and not just because of his powers.

**And we're officially 5 chapters in! Woo! Although I have a feeling this fic will be a lot longer than Ours was. We'll just have to see how it plays out. Had a lot of reviews interested in Kurt's bloodline. Any guess so far on what Blaine's mom might find?**

**As usually, thank you so much for the reviews and alerts and favorites! Makes me so happy to see them in my inbox, and you guys always have such wonderful things to say, it makes me excited!**

**MegumiDarkAurora- Glad to hear it :) And well technically no, Kurt's powers that have been revealed are just the ones he's aware of or he suspects he has. In fact, I think in the next chapter he's not going necessarily discover any new powers but find out that they aren't as limited as he thought they were. Can't answer whether they come from Kurt's mom or not, but I will say you're looking in the right direction. I guess it's true they're mushier on the show, not that there's anything wrong with mushy just too mushy too soon I was afraid would throw people off. Glad it's not the case though!**

**Oh opps! Typo on my part. I meant Klaine but I have thoughts on both. I feel like he's been mostly silent on his sacrifices for Kurt, so it's interesting for him to finally express how hard it was for him to move to McKinley for Kurt (we've all seen how angry he's been this season). In general, I thought the fight was good for them because usually Blaine is the one who does something stupid and has to make up for it, it's kind of different to have Kurt be the one who does wrong, even if I understand why he did it. They made up and are stronger than ever without going back to the Honeymoon phase, which I think is good! For Sebastian, kind of a hard one to answer or discuss without giving too much away however, I will point out that it has quite a bit to do with Kurt and his powers. As for how I get the chapters up so fast? College student with a lot of long breaks in between classes... Like four hours in between two classes at least twice a week. Thanks as always for your review!**

**miss jayne76- Thank you! He should be spending more time with them within the next couple chapters depending on how the next chapter plays out once I write it (which if it goes like the last couple, should be out in the next couple days, lol). I'm relieved the whole discussion about genetics and bloodlines creates interest rather than boredom. It had to be explained for the story to work but I was worried people might get bored. Thanks again for your review!**

**yaoilover1013- Quite mysterious indeed :) Just another thing for Blaine to love about him. Mysterious is sexy after all. Can't wait for you to read the next chapter. Thank you for the review!**

**Lar of Luyeia- Thank you very much! I hope it continues to please :) **


	6. Chapter 6

Blaine leaned against the shower wall peering into the thick cloud of steam. Tonight he had taken on Jeff in Fight Club, which always left sicker than he cared. Jeff's ability to shift energy into blunt objects tends to throw off everyone's energy but Blaine had managed to pull out a victory that left him strangely empty. Fight club usually dulled and satisfied his anger. Tonight, it just left him sad.

The door to the bathroom cracked open, Blaine's head turned towards the door. "David?"

A light, airy laugh mingled with the steam as he opened the door all the way, stepped in and closed it behind him. "No, not David. Just what do you Dalton boys do around here after hours?"

Blaine pulled open his curtain, sure enough… "Kurt?" It had been days since their last coffee date so Blaine didn't expect the trill of excitement that ran up his spine. Kurt was now leaning against the door—hair uncharacteristically wild, eyes playful yet sultry, even his smile seemed somehow more desirable. Maybe because all Blaine wanted to do was kiss them. "W-What are you doing here?"

"Oh, spying, but it looks like you caught me again, Mr. Anderson." Kurt said, tongue licking over his lips at the sight of Blaine. Blaine brought the curtain higher on his body but couldn't look away from Kurt's eyes. "Considering this is my second offense…maybe you shouldn't go so easy on me this time."

"What's gotten into you?" Blaine tried to sound firm, but his voice faltered to his desire. His voice growing lower and raspier.

Kurt smile grew as he started walking towards Blaine. Blaine couldn't find the strength to back away. In fact, the curtain started dropping from his fingers. Damn being thoughtful, there was a boy in his dorm bathroom, very clearly flirting with him and…and pulling his shirt over his head. "I'll tell you what's gotten into me. That sexy smile of yours, that big strong body, your heat." Kurt reached down to unbutton and unzip his pants. Dear god, he could see the pale hips as the clothing started to drop.

"So hot, Blaine. I love how warm you are… " Kurt's fingers trailed the elastic of his boxers. It should have been gross the way Blaine's mouth watered but he couldn't help it. It was his own Pandora's box—he wanted to see Kurt. Wanted to be with Kurt.

"So…How are you going punish me?"

Blaine's eyes flashed open. He wasn't wet, or even naked. He was lying in his bed covers kicked over his body as he was covered with sweat. His pajamas pants currently sporting an erection. He sighed as he realized he had another dream about Kurt before his phone rang again.

His ringtone- that was what woke him up. Blaine leaned over to his nightstand and looked at the caller i.d. He took a deep breath…Well, speak of the devil.

Blaine considered for five seconds letting it ring and taking care of his problem. Five seconds was enough to make him feel like a bastard before he answered the call. "Kurt? Don't you sleep?"

There was a long pause before a scared voice answered. "Sorry, I didn't mean to…It was an impulse…." Blaine doesn't miss the high-tone of sadness. If Blaine didn't know any better…

"Kurt, were you crying?" Blaine asks. Kurt sighs into the phone.

"I'm sorry I woke you. Have a good—"

"Kurt wait. Just…" Blaine isn't sure how to go about this. He was never the first person anyone called when they cried. If anything, he was usually the person on the other side. It was a weird yet, touching thing to be the person someone relied on for once. "Why are you crying?"

"I wasn't crying. I just, I just had a bad dream."

"Kurt…"

"No seriously, that's what it was." Kurt insisted. Blaine heard the shuffling of skin against the sheet on the other line. "It happens occasionally."

Blaine tilted his head back. "How often is occasionally?"

"Um…well, it hadn't happened in awhile. Maybe in almost a year." Kurt sounded like he found that hard to believe, which told Blaine they use to happen more often. "It's…It's usually about my mom."

"And her accident?" Blaine curses himself the minute the words fly out of his mouth. Damn his tired, turned-on state of mind—his brain to mouth filter was non-existent then.

"Yeah but…How did you know about it? All I remember telling you was that she died."

Blaine rubbed a free hand over his face. "Well, I wasn't going to tell you over the phone but, my mom did some research and she found an article about the accident. She showed it to me."

"Oh." Kurt's simple response was. As if he was unsure how exactly to take it. "Did she find anything else?"

"Unfortunately, no. She says you're not even in the system. Not you or either of your parents."

Kurt released a frustrated groan. It didn't help Blaine's problem that the pitch of Kurt's made it sexier than it should have. "Fantastic. I finally find superhumans like me, and I still manage to be a freak."

Blaine laughed softly. "Freak is kind of a strong word. I think talented is a better word."

"God, you're a goober." Kurt says but Blaine smiles at the humor in his voice. He almost hates to ruin it but Kurt did call him for a reason.

"So, um, do you want to talk about it? Your dream or the accident?"

For a minute, all he could hear was Kurt's breathing. It wasn't labored or deep, but rather soft and peaceful like rain. Something that'd feel good whispered in your ear. "Honestly? I don't remember much about the accident and what I remember…" Kurt's chokes, taking a large swallow before he continues. "Pain. So much pain. It felt like every piece of me was broken. And the time I spent in the hospital. I was so drugged up I don't remember the first couple weeks, but the rest of the time, it just drove me crazy…. Then when I'm finally coherent enough to process anything, they tell me my mom died and I missed the funeral…Naturally, that night was when I ate the most god awful meatloaf I've ever had the misfortune of eating."

"It's not like I die in them or I relive the accident…It's just seeing myself in the hospital bed. Hearing the beeps of the machine. Wondering every minute if I was going to die or if I even wanted to live like this. And the pain…you get use to it. You have to because it doesn't stop." Kurt laughed a humorless laugh. "I can't remember if I cried when they told me about my mom, but I still remember how bad it hurt. And I was drugged through most of it."

And what can he say to that? Really, it's one of those things where he can't say anything. He's so taken by Kurt's survival. How well he's taking everything that's been thrown at him these past couple weeks. Blaine certainly doesn't want to make it worse by being honest about his feelings; especially on the off chance, Kurt doesn't feel the same way and it gets uncomfortable. At the same time, Blaine can't help but be attracted to Kurt's strength. His dream was proof enough of that.

He compromises with himself. A mutual gesture that didn't have to be a lie. "I wish I were there…I'd make it better if I could."

"You already have." Kurt responded, and Blaine for the life of him, can't trace anything but sincerity in the tone. "Thank you for listening to me. Sorry it couldn't be at a more appropriate time."

_Oh, if only he knew…_"It's alright, you know. I didn't have anything like school or Warbler practice tomorrow…Unless this is all some elaborate ruse to take down the lead soloist—oh my god!"

Kurt chuckled, which made Blaine smile again. "Ah, foiled again. If only it wasn't for those pesky Warblers. Good night Blaine."

"Night Kurt…Oh wait!"

"Yes?" Blaine bit his lip. Knowing he shouldn't, but that damn filter was still missing.

"Would you admit you were crying if I told you that I bet your eyes look beautiful watery?"

"No." Kurt says, but his voice is airy again, which Blaine is beginning to learn means he's blushing at something. Blaine smile grows. "But you're still a goober for trying."

They say their goodnights and Blaine hangs up his phone. The talk about the accident had calmed Blaine's body down, but their little back and forth towards the end has gotten his stomach all in knots. Kurt called him. Relied on him to make things better and he had. He was beginning to trust Blaine more, and he loved that.

But the problem was going to be not taking advantage of that trust.

()()()()()()()

Sebastian cursed as he wondered the hall outside of Blaine's room. He had been so close to penetrating Blaine's dreams tonight. So close. And unfortunately, the thing that kept him from succeeding was the person he was pretending to be. That damn Kurt Hummel.

He was a threat the minute Sebastian saw him. He now had the ability, along with haunting dreams, to be anywhere and sense everything. He could tell by Kurt's energy that he was powerful and could sense by Blaine's heat that he liked Kurt. That, partnered with the very fact that Kurt had not only heard him, but seen him too, it made Hummel quite the threat.

For the longest time, he had been pursuing other people's dreams. Practicing. Learning their weaknesses and then using them to take advantage of their minds and manipulate them into doing whatever they wanted. Some of the boys were easy—simply using his sex appeal to get into their heads, others needed memories and fears, things Sebastian had to learn about those people before he could use them. A little more challenging, but by this point, almost a cake walk for him.

Blaine was more difficult. He had been reserved enough in the past and was even more so now. The only time Sebastian had been able to get to him before were when he had those nightmares. And Sebastian couldn't bare those. So, since discovering that Blaine had taken to Kurt quite stronger than he originally thought (particularly, seeing the fight between Blaine and his mom), Sebastian picked a different strategy—using Kurt to get into his head. And Blaine's body had been exhausted enough, along with the emotional toll his body had taken as well, that Sebastian thought it was the perfect night to try again.

But now he was shutout, and who knows when he'll get another opportunity like this again. He growled and stomped freely down the halls of Dalton. Feet never making a sound than perhaps the swoosh of wind. He had realized another thing—this was the first time Blaine had gone to fight club and not had a nightmare. Ever.

And it was all because of Kurt.

()()()()()()()

It was one of those days were everything could possibly go wrong. Kurt slept past his alarm, leaving him almost no time to go through his routine. Finn was running behind too, making them both late for school. Azimio slushied him, ruining the new jacket he had bought. And naturally, everyone was fighting in Glee club about what song to sing at Sectionals—of course they were planning a little more than two weeks ahead of Sectionals.

Kurt excuses himself when Mercedes and Rachel started to argue about the female solo. Head pounding he walks out into the hallway and pulls out his phone to send a text to Blaine.

**Kurt- Want to grab some coffee after school? I have the immense desire to throw some into someone's face right about now.**

**Blaine- You say you want to throw coffee in someone's face and you invite me? That's sounds dangerous for me…**

**Kurt- It wouldn't burn you if I did, so there's no fun it doing it to you. The very worst you'll get is a bitch-glare.**

**Blaine- You mean like this :( **

**Kurt- I don't have a unibrow but yes, you goober.**

**Blaine- You know, goober isn't exactly a term of endearment. I personally liked it better when you called me 007. **

**Kurt- Nice try, goober. So again, coffee?**

**Blaine- I have to think about it. You calling me a goober and all…**

**Kurt- I was thinking 4?**

**Blaine- lol, it's a date. I'll be the goober OUT of uniform for once, fyi. My brother's home this weekend so I have to go home after. **

**Kurt- Sounds like fun.**

**Blaine- No, not really.**

Kurt is about to text him what he means by that when the phone is smacked out of his hand and he's slammed back first into the lockers. Kurt's eyes flick up in time to see Karofsky smiling smugly as he rushes down the hall and into the locker room. The cover had been broken from the last time Karofsky did it and Kurt never got around to getting a new one. Now the phone was smashed at his feet.

Then he just saw red. This was ridiculous. If he wanted to, he could trash Karofsky. What right did he have to push Kurt into lockers and destroy his things? If anything, he should be afraid of Kurt. His boot collided with the broken pieces of phone as Kurt rushed down the hall and into the locker room. Karofsky barely looked up as he pulled work out clothes out of his locker.

"The girls locker room is down the hall."

Kurt slammed his locker shut; almost on his hand even. Karofsky looked shocked as Kurt seethed at him. "What the hell is your problem?"

Karofsky laughed at Kurt's sudden temper. "I don't have a problem unless you're looking at me, Hummel."

"Oh right because us gays are just out to molest you straight guys, right? Well guess what hamhock, you're not my type! I'm not into chubby boys who sweat too much and will be bald by the time they're thirty. Especially when they're too dumb to realize who they're messing with."

Karofsky's face changed. Something Kurt had said struck a nerve. Kurt smiles as he realizes he's got something. "That's it, isn't it? You're afraid of me."

"Don't be stupid." Karofsky tries to push by Kurt but the smaller boy steps in his way, getting more into his personal bubble.

"Take your own advice Karofsky, because you need to get it through your fat-layered head that pushing me into lockers isn't going to stop me from being gay. It's just going to give you more to be afraid of the day you make me snap and I show you I can do more than fade into walls!"

It's the first time Kurt's ever confirmed what happened that day. Rather than make him back off, Karofsky raises his fist to Kurt's face. The smaller boy doesn't even flinch—knowing Karofsky is afraid of him gives him the strength to stand his ground. "Don't push me, Hummel…"

"What you want to hit me? Do it! You can't beat the gay out of me anymore than I can beat the ignoramus out of you!"

"DON'T PUSH ME!"

"You're just a scared little boy who can't handle how extraordinary normal you are!" Kurt's mouth is then sealed with Karofsky's. The touch of his fingers against his face register before the chapped, warm lips do. It takes several moments before Kurt realizes. _Holy shit, he's kissing me. Holy fuck! My first kiss and it was with the kid who torments me every day and… _His thoughts just ramble on like that. He's simply too shocked to do anything but take the kiss.

When Karofsky parts, he seems just as shocked. Kurt stares back with wide eyes. Half-tempted to puke all over the floor and then roll up into a ball. He had always been a romantic. His parents had been so in love with each other, Carole and Burt had found one another after believing they'd never love again, and sometimes his only company had been the classic movies of unimaginable love. Now those dreams of kissing someone he was so in love with, seeing the fireworks and stars and every other metaphor in the book, were shattered by someone he hated.

And now he's leaning in again. Kurt panics. He can't let it happen again. His fear runs high as he shoves his hands into Karofsky's chest, only meaning to stop him from kissing. But he feels an unexplainable tingle in his fingers and a flash of energy surges out of him. Karofsky is thrown back away from Kurt and into the opposing wall. Kurt watches in fear, trying to listen for Karofsky to regain his breath as the wind had been knocked out of him.

He had just sent Karofsky across the locker room. Big, large, had to be almost 80 pounds heavier than he was, Karofsky. There was no way in hell he could have ever done that in a normal way so how could he have done it with what Blaine called, his telekinetic powers? He had never been able to move something heavier than him before.

But he had never been so emotional before either. And what this wasn't his ability to moves things but a new power all together. Hell, he hadn't just moved Karofsky, he threw him! Kurt wasn't sure if he had just learned of a new ability or if he had learned there were no limitations to the ones he had.

When he finally heard Karofsky breathe normally, Kurt didn't give him the chance to retaliate or worse. He ran out of the locker room and down the hall. He barely remembered that he was Finn's ride, so he stopped at the music room. Everyone turned to look at Kurt. He was panting hard and visibly shaken. Mr. Schue seemed the most concerned besides Finn.

"Kurt, is everything alright?"

Kurt shook his head. He couldn't tell them. Finn was the only one who knew he had powers. Besides, they wouldn't understand. He needed someone who could and Blaine could understand. "F-Finn, I have to leave. You need to get a ride from someone else. My phone's broke so…so…." Kurt doesn't stay long enough to give them the chance to catch him. He's tearing down the hallway as tears threaten to spill from his eyes.

"Kurt? Wait! Kurt!" He hears Finn call after him but someone else (he thinks Rachel) tells him to let him go. Kurt manages to make it out to his car before he starts to sob. He's terrified. Terrified because he assaulted Karofsky. Terrified because it wasn't Kurt's powers that had scared him but rather his feelings for Kurt. Terrified because…

Well, he wasn't terrified because it had happened. Karofsky had stolen his first kiss. A new wave of sickness and tears warmed over. He backed up fast and then screeched forward out of the parking lot. This was just so messed up. So twisted.

As much as he needed to see Blaine, how could he possibly face him when Kurt had wanted him to be his first kiss?

**So, there's chapter 6! A 'The Rising Sun' version of the infamous Kurt/Karofsky confrontation. I usually don't like writing scenes from the show into here (like I did for they're meeting), especially using the dialog they actually used, but I felt like this needed to be in the story. Plus since it is based so much off the actual show, it's kind of hard not to do. Besides, Kurt's just so much wittier than I am. **

**Once again, you guys were fabulous with your reviews and alerts/favorites! Always makes me feel loved :) **

**cynthiacyvon- Thank you! Yes, Kurt's certainly good at standing out even when he's already different, lol. But that's why he's so awesome. Hope you continue to like the story. **

**miss jayne76- Isn't Blaine just frustrating sometimes? Kissing Rachel, serenading a boy at the Gap—even in my stories he's frustratingly oblivious. Don't worry though, he'll get his mack on with Kurt at some point and if I have it my way, sooner rather than later. And yes, I'm torturing poor Kurt by making him such a mystery, but at least he has kick ass powers…lol, unfortunately school and work prevents me from tying myself to the desk and writing but I love the enthusiasm! Thanks for the review :)**

**yaoilover1013- One of my regular reviewers! Thank you for reading and always taking the time to review! **

**Ittlebitz- Thank you very much! I don't know if even I quite know where's going yet (though I have some ideas of at least along the way) but I hope you continue to like it!**

**Crazzanimefantic- Hi there! Thank you very much. Especially means a lot since mysterious isn't my forte. I always want to just pour it out at the beginning rather than wait for a good moment to come. A little bit easier for this story since it has to be mysterious. Thanks for your review!**


	7. Chapter 7

Blaine should have been a little more hesitant to see Kurt, but really, it was a welcome distraction before he had to go home. He and Cooper had a complicated relationship—occasionally being best friends, other times, being at each other's throat. Not to mention, he hadn't talked to his mom since their little blow up. If one of those things didn't ruin his weekend, his father would surely be up to his old stuff. No, seeing Kurt would help get him through.

That was until he found Kurt already in the coffee shop. Head hung low and body visibly shaking. There was one cup of coffee in his hands and another across from him. Blaine's eyes softened as he adjusted messenger bag and walked over to the table.

"Kurt?" Kurt looked up. The edge of his eyes were red, eyes strained as he tried to peer at Blaine. The irritated red was still watery. Kurt still managed a small smile as he gestured to the coffee cup.

"I got you a coffee…it's probably way too cold by now."

Blaine sat in the chair across from him He took off the lid and blew at it gently. In between breaths, he told Kurt. "It's alright. Thank you." Kurt looked down at the table as Blaine used his breath to warm up the coffee. He'd never get it warm enough for him to like it, but he got it to a level where he could drink comfortably. He took a long sip. "Kurt, did something happen? I mean, stupid question. You were stressed out when you text me but I didn't think it was this bad."

"It wasn't. Actually, seeing you was going to make it better. Now…" Kurt forced himself to look up to Blaine's eyes. So strained yet still so beautiful. "Blaine, the bully got after me again. This time, he broke my phone. And…and I just lost it."

"Lost it? You mean…"

Kurt nodded. "It was just yelling at first. I yelled at him, he yelled back. He told me to stop but I pushed and then he…he…" Kurt's fingers absent-mindedly trailed to his lips. The nail trailed for a moment before he forced it out. "He kissed me and…Shit, Blaine, I had never been so scared in my life."

Blaine didn't even notice that a swear word besides hell had slipped from Kurt's mouth. Or even heard anything beyond he kissed me. Blaine clutched his coffee cup harder, letting go when he smelled the faint of smell of burning Styrofoam. "He kissed you?" Blaine repeated, hoping it came off more irritated than jealous.

"Yeah…and, I just got scared and he was going to do it again, so I pushed him away only…Only it sent him across the room and into the wall. Hard too. I knocked the breath out of him."

_Goo_d Blaine thought. He must have shown more pride than he wanted to because Kurt's eyes watered some more. "Blaine. You don't understand. I can't move things that are larger than me! Never mind fling people against the wall!...I could have hurt him…"

Blaine broke of his selfish jealously when Kurt put his arms on the table and buried his head in them. Soft sobs wracked Kurt's body. In that instant, Blaine realized Kurt wasn't just upset at this instance. It was everything. The mystery surrounding his life. The unpredictability of his powers. The bully who tormented him kissing him. Him almost hurting said bully. Kurt was losing it in front of him…

Blaine wasn't sure how to react. So he did what felt right. He stood from the table and walked around. He threw his arms around Kurt and held him close against his body. Kurt awkward twisted his body so he could sob in Blaine's shirt. People were looking at them. Some concerned for Kurt. Others disgusted because they were embracing each other. As if they had never seen a act of kindness and there for, couldn't understand it.

Kurt sobs started to die down little by little. Until he was simply sniffling. "You're so warm…."

Blaine can't help but giggle. "Thanks…"

"It was my first kiss…"

"Only if you want it to be…" Blaine's humor faded once more as he stroked Kurt's back. He had never taken a moment to smell Kurt before. Now he was so close the cologne had no choice but to push into his sense. He smelled like lavender or a rose after a rainstorm. Something that should have been feminine but didn't. In fact, he just plain smelt better than any gender could lay claim to. Kurt pulled away and looked into Blaine's eyes. Confused yet intrigued. "You can just…pretend it wasn't…"

"No I can't. I've had enough pretending Blaine. I'm tired of looking at myself and…" Kurt took a deep stuttering breath. "I'm tired of looking at myself and not knowing who I am…More importantly, I'm tired of lying to people about it...I may hate that Karofsky was my first kiss—but at least I know it happened."

Kurt then smooth over the collar of Blaine's button-up shirt—a blue plaid pattern. "Sorry, you're having dinner with your family and I soaked your shirt."

He chuckled in response, brushing a few stray locks out of Kurt's face. "Contrary to popular belief, water can't hurt me."

A thought occurred to Blaine. It wasn't a good idea per say, but maybe it would help Kurt be less confused to see a family environment where powers existed and they were talked about freely. That, and it'd give his mother a good chance to see Kurt and see that it wasn't the threat she considered him to be. "Kurt…I know it seems like bad timing but would you like to have dinner with my family?"

Kurt stared at him for a moment. He was shocked. Uncertain. A little confused. Once he haze lifted he answered. "Well…um, could I borrow your phone? Karofsky broke mine…"

"Sure." Blaine said, pulling out his phone and handing it to Kurt. Kurt dialed the first three numbers to his dad's cell phone before Blaine added. "I was right you know."

"About what?"

Blaine wiped a forgotten tear from Kurt's eye and smiled. "Your eyes are beautiful watery."

()()()()()()()

Burt had been worried when Kurt called him but after assuring he was all right and wanted to have dinner with a friend, he calmed down. After the regular questions (What's his name? Where does he live? He's not going to lay a hand on you is he? He knows I have a shotgun, right?) he was given permission and Blaine took him out to the parking lot. "I'll just drive us there and then I'll drop you back off later. That way you don't get lost."

Kurt was confident he could drive fine by himself, but didn't want to miss out on the chance to spend time with Blaine. Blaine had given him his address and Kurt knew it was a particularly upscale part of Westerville. That and his family had to be loaded to pay the tuition at Dalton.

So, needless to say, he was shocked when Blaine walked to the drivers side an old beaten down and dented cherry mustang convertible that looked worn to be worth any money. "This is your car?"

Blaine laughed. "What did you expect? A limo? Hop on in, it's unlocked." Kurt opened the passenger side door and climbed in beside Blaine slamming it shut. Blaine stuck the keys in the ignition and the car loudly roared to life. Blaine started pulling out of the parking lot. "Go ahead and pick some music. I got most of it in the back."

Kurt first glanced at the stereo. Actually, it was a cassette player. He turned to the backseat and saw the Blaine had a milk carton full of cassettes just sitting in the back. "Oh my god. A car like this it'd be so easy to put in a C.D. player!"

"Most people would worry about me damaging the value of my car." Blaine said matter-of-factly. Kurt snorted.

"Don't take this personally Blaine, but your car's not worth very much. Sure it's a Mustang but more accurately, it's one built from other Mustangs close enough to it's model, and if I were to guess, some of the gaps were filled with other Ford parts. Someone Frankensteined the value out of it."

Blaine looked impressed. "You're car savvy?"

"My dad runs his own garage. Hummel Lube and Tire. I help him out during the summers sometimes. It's sort of my guilty pleasure." Kurt started leaning back and searching through the cassettes.

"Well, my mom always said there's nothing hotter than a man who knows his way around car. I think that's why she married my dad." Blaine joked.

"You know, you never really told me what your parents are like. I know Cooper Anderson's your brother and that your mom works for…GAIA right?" Blaine nodded at the question. "And that your dad's a human. But like…before today I didn't even know what you usually dressed like."

Honestly, he didn't know that much about Blaine at all. It was scary how much he trusted Blaine despite that. They had met nearly three weeks ago—had a few coffee dates and texted each other constantly but nothing that warranted getting into his car and meeting his family. A family Blaine mentioned a lot but never really talked about.

It was obvious Blaine had on a front. The question was, did the front protect Blaine's more vulnerable side? Or was to hide the sinister person inside. Well, Kurt doubted that much, but his life was enough of a mystery, he certainly didn't need the boy he was crushing on to be one too.

That being said, with his borderline goofy grin and the way he paid attention to Kurt, it was hard not to trust Blaine.

Blaine made a weird motion with his cheek. More than likely pressing his tongue up against it. "Let's see…My parents are probably a little bit older than yours are. Cooper was suppose to their only child but I was a 'surprise' baby. " He said surprise as if it wasn't his term for it. "My mom's kind of like you. Always dresses nice, a little bit sarcastic. All my looks I got from her. She and I use to be pretty close and I guess we still are, it's just been harder since I've moved to Dalton." And she wouldn't be very happy that Blaine had brought home someone unexpectedly. Never mind a boy GAIA knew nothing about and a gay one at that, which would surely start something with Blaine's father.

Which brought him to his next point. "My dad and I have a little bit of a complicated relationship."

"Because you have powers?" Blaine shook his head.

"No, he's proud of that. Or, at least he use to be. Now he just uses it as evidence that everyone in the family is against him. He's not exactly thrilled that I turned out to be gay." Kurt stopped pawing through the cassettes to look up at Blaine. His hands tightened on the wheel—Kurt could feel the old car getting humid. It was almost December.

Kurt swallowed, searching for any source of hydration from the heat. "Is he going to be mad you brought me home?"

"Probably, but he won't start anything in front of you. He's too high and mighty for that."

The windows were started to fog and Kurt could feel a little bit of sweat develop on his brow. He didn't realize could do this much with his powers, but it was clear he was losing his cool. Kurt, desperate for a change in subject, he picked a cassette and put it in the player. "Why do you have this? You could get a c.d. player that you could hook your iPod to and would sound a whole lot better. Plus you wouldn't all of that in the back…" He said jabbing a thumb to the milk crate.

The humidity broke as Blaine smiled. "I like it."

"Why?" Kurt asked in an exhausted tone. Blaine shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess because it's vintage? I mean, you hear all the artists out there- auto-tuning their voices, adding dance beats, and practically creating music with computers and it's great, I love that…. But sometimes, it's just nice to listen to something in a simpler form, you know? Like in it's virgin form." Kurt rolled his eyes and gave up any hope of persuading Blaine. Although, what he said didn't seem too farfetched. Actually, it was kind of endearing. Sweet even. As if Blaine was the sort of person who could appreciate everything as it was made as opposed to always trying to change.

It was certainly a nice pace from the rest of the society. "Oh Roxy Music!" Blaine turned up the player and placed his hand besides Kurt's head. Close, but a little more distant than he would have preferred. What was he thinking anyway? What the hell would someone like Blaine want with him? Someone who was dramatic, knew nothing about himself, and was entirely bothersome? Blaine was gorgeous enough to have any guy he wanted.

But as he glanced out of the corner of his eye, he saw the innocent shift of his shoulders and the excited glint in his eye. Every so often Blaine would look and smile with adoration. It was in those moments Kurt felt like the most interesting person in the world. Like no one but him could make Blaine feel this way.

Even if that wasn't true, he clung on to it. What was one more lie in his life anyway?

()()()()()()()

"Mom! I'm home. I brought—" Robin listened as her youngest son was cut off with a gag noise. No doubt her oldest son's doing. She stepped back from the salad and walked out to the other room to play referee.

"Cooper, what have I told you about being nice to your little bro…ther." Her voice trailed. Not because Cooper currently had Blaine in a headlock and Blaine was trying to get him off (pretty much normal behavior for the brothers). It was because a boy was standing just in the door. Blaine hadn't told her he was bringing a guest but she found it hard to be angry. When he was younger, Cooper brought friends over all the time unannounced.

That was until she felt his emotion. Such an overpowering sensation of them. Confused. Curious. Nervous. Excited. Joyful. That was just the ones that hit her first, so many others followed—sad and scared being the most recognizable ones.

Most humans tended to believe that there was a name for every emotion. There wasn't. There were some feelings that just couldn't be described by any language. Feelings that most people didn't know they could even feel. So many of these unnamable emotions, along with the ones Robin identified, were resounding from this boy. It was making her a bit uncomfortable. "Boys, knock it off."

"He started it!" Blaine yelled, pushing Cooper off of him. Cooper chuckled and backed away from Blaine. If you had just looked at the two, you wouldn't have guessed brothers. That was because while Cooper looked almost exactly like his father, Blaine got all his looks from Robin. Except for his eyes—hers were green, Cooper's were blue, Floyd's were blue, but Blaine's eyes were Hazel. It easily passed for green most of the time. Cooper was also thinner with his limbs, hair straight lighter brown. They had the same hard jaw and that was about it really.

The boy looked at Blaine and new emotions came out. Robin frowned. Lust. Desire. Adoration. All while looking at Blaine. Blaine turned at that moment to look at the boy. Her son's feelings were almost identical to his.

Now it was very clear who this boy was. "You must be Kurt." Robin stepped into the room, sparing a glare to her youngest son before extending her hand to him. The boy nodded and took her hand. Grasp firm but shaky. "I'm Robin Anderson. It's very nice to meet you. Blaine didn't tell me he was bringing a friend home."

"Kurt Hummel." Kurt repeated, trying to keep his voice strong. "And I'm sorry if it's an inconvenience. I've…I've just had a bad day and Blaine thought I…He thought…"

"Oh Kurt, I know this was Blaine's idea. And it's not an inconvenience at all." Robin lied through her teeth. Floyd was not going to react well to this. "But I need to borrow my son for a minute. Blaine…Kitchen."

"Mom, I can't just leave Kurt unattended. He's our guest." Blaine tried to argue, already sinking in his spot. Cooper laughed and slapped Blaine on the back.

"Don't worry bro, I'll keep Kurt company. He's all yours, Mom."

Kurt shot Blaine an apologetic look as he followed Robin into the hallway. Once they were out of sight, she reached out and grabbed Blaine's ear dragging his flailing body the rest of the way. "Ow! Mom! Okay, I get the point!"

Robin let go of her son's ear. Her voice went low. "Blaine Robert Anderson, why in the hell would you think this is a good idea? Bringing that boy here without telling anyone!"

"I know, I know. I should have called but Mom, he was crying in my arms…" Blaine held his arms close to his chest as if to demonstrate. "This is all scaring him and I just…I wanted him to see a superhuman family so he could feel normal."

"A 75% superhuman, Blaine. You and your father seem to forget he's still a member of this family. You know he's not going to be happy about this!"

Blaine snorted. "He wouldn't be happy if I brought anyone home unless they had breasts and ovaries."

This one argument felt like so many at once. Robin wanted to stop and tell him that his father loved him. Explain to him that Floyd's feelings regarding his sexuality were conflicted and that he was trying to make progress to accept Blaine. That she hadn't married a bigot. But that was an argument she was slowly losing—especially since she wasn't so sure herself.

So, instead she continued with the argument at hand. "And Kurt isn't normal Blaine, not even by our standards. We don't know a thing about him. For all we know, he could be an absorber."

"He's not, Mom. And how are we supposed to find out anything about Kurt if we don't try to get close to him?" Blaine looked smug suddenly. It was because Robin knew he was right. They could argue about if Kurt was dangerous or not until the cows came home, but they'd never know unless they got to know him.

Robin sighed. "What was so upset about, anyway? You said he was crying."

Blaine scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well…he sort lost control today…"

()()()()()()()

"Hi, Kurt is it?" Kurt broke out of his trance when Blaine's brother—no, the Cooper Anderson—had snaked his way behind Kurt and face close to his ear. Kurt gulped and nodded softly. He felt Cooper smile. "Pleasure to meet you. I'm—"

"Cooper Anderson." Kurt turned suddenly. A little uncomfortable with the close proximity yet feeling like such a fan-boy for feeling giddy. "I know. You're in the free-credit-rating commercials. You're an Ohio legend. We sang a version of your song in Glee once."

"Cool." Cooper said, nodding his head with his own statement. Then he stared hard into Kurt's eyes. Kurt stared back; barely noticing the way Cooper's eyes glowed before his problems seemed distant. His chest expanded as his mind felt lighter, as if all his body could think about were those eyes and the person attached.

"Now _Kurt_…" The older man's voice was gentle, beckoning. Kurt's ears automatically listened for the next command. Command? What was happening? "Are you and my brother currently involved?"

"No…" Kurt replied, just barely hanging from calling Cooper 'sir'. "We're just friends."

Cooper frowned, displeased with that answer. He quickly recovered, eyes glowing lighter by the minute. "But, you like him, don't you?" Kurt nodded and paused. Had he just admitted that out loud? What the hell was wrong with him? Cooper smiled at his answer. "And do you find my brother attractive?"

Kurt hesitated before answering. "He's…the most beautiful boy I've ever…"

"Mom! Cooper's putting a spell on Kurt!" Cooper broke eye contact, releasing Kurt from his grasp. The light-headed feeling that had taken a hold of him receded quickly until Kurt was left wondering why his filter had switched off. That was until he remembered what Cooper's powers were. Blaine grabbed his hand, looking over Kurt with concern.

"Are you alright? Sorry, my brother's an idiot." He sent a glare over his shoulder at Cooper, who rolled his eyes.

"Come on, it's not like I asked him to dance around in his underwear. I just asked him a few questions." Cooper said innocently. Robin in, giving Cooper her own taste of disapproval.

"Cooper Floyd, don't use your powers on your brother's friends." Kurt tried to smile gratefully, but his head was spinning. "Now look what you did. That was probably the first anyone used compulsion on him. Blaine, take him into the dining room and sit him down. I'll deal with your brother."

Kurt allowed himself to be lead away. It didn't seem like Blaine's mom was mad anymore, so he was relieved. At least until his legs started to wobble. Blaine managed to catch Kurt just before they gave out. "Whoa, easy. We're almost to there."

He heard Blaine pull out a chair from the dining room table and guide him down. Blaine disappeared for a minute but came back with a glass of water, offering it to Kurt. "What did your brother do to me?" Kurt asked weakly accepting the glass of water.

"He used his compulsion on you. It's how he makes people do whatever he wants. Most of the time, if someone's never been compulsed before, it makes them dizzy for a few minutes. It's like being sea-sick." Blaine smiled apologetically. "You have to watch for Coop, he's a little mischievous."

Kurt felt the dizziness start to leave, but a new unsettling feeling set in. Cooper had used his compulsion so he could figure out if Kurt was Blaine's potential boyfriend. And while he hadn't said too much, he did admit that he found Blaine attractive (Most gorgeous boy he's ever seen were the exact words). Blaine spoke up mid explanation, meaning he could have heard Kurt say that. His face broke out in a blush as he realized Blaine could have very easily heard that. "Kurt, are you alright? Your skin is flushed."

"Um…yeah." Kurt decided not to bring it up. Blaine would have been more shocked. Maybe less kind to Kurt than he was now if he had heard. Or maybe he just hoped Blaine didn't hear because surely Blaine didn't think the same way.

Except Blaine had heard everything. And he was thinking similar thoughts…About how Kurt beautiful, strong, and well-meaning, wouldn't want a screw up like Blaine.

**Not quite where I want to break, but I have to before it gets too long. Next chapter we'll have Mr. Anderson's reaction, a few Klaine scenes, and Cooper puts his powers to good (and questionably bad) use. Hopefully. There was so much I wanted to do in this chapter but ran out of time. **

**As usual, thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, alerts, and favorites :) This particular story is almost at 30 reviews, which is awesome! **

**Ittlebitz- Thanks! Hope it keeps you excited! **

**yaoilover1013- Aw! Well I always appreciate reviews :). Blaine's dream was a little bit of me getting my frustration over the sexual tension out. Pretty sure he had to have had at least a 100 dreams like that about Kurt before they got together (beautiful boy with a great sense of humor and fashion sense? He HAD to have dreams). When I started this story, one of the first scenes I knew I had to transfer into this world was the Kurt/Karofsky confrontation—although originally I had planned to take it a bit farther but decided against it. Hope you love the new update! Thanks for being a regular reviewer!**

**miss jayne76- Another regular :) Thanks! Yes I know, it's rather torturous of me to drag so much a long but I promise you, the answers are coming soon. Maybe not next chapter because like I said, there was a lot in this chapter I didn't get to do, but soon. I will hint that Kurt will be transferring to Dalton very soon and we'll get to learn a little bit more about everyone in the Warblers, and the Cindy's (probably not as interested in those but –hint, hint- it will lead to Kurt finding out more about his bloodline. Lol , sorry, I especially need my sleep. If I don't get enough sleep at night, I pretty much turn into a complete and total bitch (not the fun kind). The good news is my final exams (three out of four in one day, two of which I only have a 15 minute gap in between. No pressure!) are tomorrow, so come Friday I won't have any classes this summer. Still have to work but at least that's one less thing competing with my writing. Thanks for the review!**

**cynthiacyvon- Thank you! Hope this chapter didn't slow it down too much, and that you like the update. :)**


	8. Chapter 8

Robin knocks on the door softly. "Floyd, are you coming down for dinner?"

"I'll be there in a minute." She opened the door anyway. Floyd Anderson was hunched over his desk, shifting through papers strewed about. Glasses hanging on his nose and still mostly dressed from work. Robin had fallen for this man because of his professional regard. Now, she felt like it was almost tearing her family apart. He looked up and forced—not gave her, forced—a smile. "Just a few more minutes, baby."

"Floyd, um…Blaine brought someone home for dinner. A boy…" A paper crumbled under his hand. Jaw set hard.

"A little warning would have been nice."

"Well, here it is. And don't try to get out of it. It's a rare occurrence now a days to have both your son's in the same room."

"And I suppose that's my fault too?" _Yes… No._ Robin didn't know how to answer. There was always an affliction of guilt she felt when it came to Blaine and Floyd's relationship. Something she could never admit or rid herself of. "Because you superhumans are so perfect after all…"

Robin closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Floyd. Just come eat dinner, please."

"I'll be down in a little bit…" Robin shook her head and just left the room. Something had to give. Between Blaine hating coming home, Floyd hating being around superhumans and her hating the entire situation, the house was emptying and becoming less of a home. And it was slipping faster than she could grab.

()()()()()()()

"So, Mrs. Anderson, Blaine tells me you work at GAIA. To be honest I don't know that much about it." Kurt broke the almost silence at the dinner table. For almost 15 minutes, Cooper had just gone on and on about his newest acting job and the producer he had charmed to get it. Robin, seemingly grateful for the change in topic, ran with it, while trying to hide how nervous she was Floyd hadn't come down for dinner yet.

"Well, what has Blaine told you about it?"

"He's told me what it stands for. And that it's sort of like the Ministry of Magic." Kurt shot a smile to Blaine who smiled back before taking another bite of his food. Cooper laughed.

"Blaine's a little obsessed with Harry Potter. Especially Daniel Radcliffe. I think it's the skin…" Cooper teased. Blaine kicked his brother under the table, but thankfully Kurt seemed to miss the comment. He didn't want things to get anymore awkward after his brother had complused Kurt, especially since Kurt still didn't know Blaine heard.

Robin smirked at her kids. "Kind of. GAIA does a lot of different things, but most importantly we provide laws and guidelines for Superhumans to live by. It was started in the mid-1800's by a woman named Elsa Krief, just as superhumans started appearing in America. Since then, we've been keeping track of superhumans and making sure they're… kept under control."

"Kept under control?"

While Cooper's smile never faded, his tone seemed to turn sour. "Yeah Kurt…See, GAIA thinks we're 'too good' for society."

"Cooper…" Robin warned, knowing exactly where this conversation was going.

"There's a debate going on right now. Almost a war actually. People are getting tired of GAIA running our lives and telling us to suppress who we are. Like how we can tell people we're dating or draw attention to ourselves unless it's absolutely necessary?" Cooper continued anyway. It was obvious this wasn't the first time this was brought up.

"And if weren't for people like you who abuse their powers, we wouldn't have a need for these laws. And by 'people we're dating', do you mean the girls you have one night stands with?" His mother said rather harshly. Cooper's eyes rang with a deep-seated pain. Blaine and Kurt looked down almost immediately.

After a moment or so, Cooper started to lean in over Blaine to Kurt. "Your dad doesn't know you have powers, does he Kurt? Did you know that GAIA won't allow him to know without doing obscene amounts of paperwork and rigorous screening?" Kurt slowly looked up but didn't answer. It was a question he wanted to ask before the conversation got out of hand. The way he said 'allow' made him fearful to tell them about Finn. "And if you go through all that, they still might wipe their memory of your existed? After all, if you don't work for GAIA…"

"Cooper, enough." Kurt turned around and took in a man. Thin frame, broad shoulders, and light brown graying hair. He didn't look a thing like him, but Kurt knew this had to be Blaine's father. He came over to the table and sat down without introducing himself to Kurt. "You know damn well that wasn't why Chelsea was rejected…It's because she knew for 7 months before you bothered to tell GAIA."

Robin seemed to appreciate the change in argument, but glared at her late husband. Cooper sat back in his chair looking similar to a child told he couldn't get a new toy. Kurt didn't like the energy he got from this man.

Blaine cleared his throat. "Dad…This is Kurt. Kurt, this is my father, Floyd."

Kurt nodded his head and tried to smile. Floyd didn't look up as he started shoveling his food into his mouth. Blaine shook his head and tried to act cool, but Kurt could feel the heat pile up again. Kurt didn't blame him. Was it really any wonder why Blaine had been so hesitant to come home? This family was filled with tension and it seemed nothing could break it.

He noticed the forlorn look in Robin's eyes. It matched the gaze Blaine had.

()()()()()()()

After dinner, Blaine had asked his mom if he could take Kurt up to his room to watch a movie. Robin agreed but told him to leave the door open. She might have said no if Blaine didn't have to catch Kurt up on what he and his mother had discussed.

Robin was still nervous and Blaine had to promise not to 'seek out' Kurt's attention, but they reached the same mutual point. Kurt needed to learn more about himself and he needed to learn how to control his powers in a safe environment and there was only one place he could do that.

"So, what was all that downstairs?" Kurt asked, crossing his legs on Blaine's bed. He knew it was kind of rude to ask but the incident had been so jarring, Blaine couldn't blame him for asking.

Blaine climbed on the bed looking up at Kurt from the end of the bed. "Cooper had fallen in love with this girl, Chelsea, about four years ago. She was a human and Cooper didn't tell GAIA that she knew he had abilities so…when they did try to register with GAIA so they could get married she was rejected."

"So, they couldn't get married?"

"No…Chelsea and Cooper couldn't be together anymore." Blaine said firmly. Kurt felt bad for Cooper. Granted, the guy had used his powers on him within five minutes of meeting Kurt but he was charming and fun. He actually wanted Kurt and Blaine together (as opposed to Blaine's father who didn't even acknowledge Kurt). The idea that underneath that light hearted exterior was a broken heart—it was sad. "A GAIA employee erased Chelsea's memories and Cooper was forbidden to go near her again. GAIA gives you two options—you have to register your relationship with GAIA or…You give up your powers and live life as a human. He told Chelsea before he got confirmation so he couldn't register and it was too late for him to give up his powers. Since then, Cooper's had a little bit of a grudge against GAIA."

Kurt stared down at his hands. "Do you think that's what happened with my parents? Did my mom give up her powers to be with my dad? How do people lose their powers anyway?"

Blaine knew the first question was rhetorical, so he simply answered it with a shrug. "Before I can explain that, I'd have to tell you what an absorber is." Kurt couldn't help but laugh that Blaine knew to answer the question before Kurt could ask more. "You see: most powers are categorized by what they are. Like Cooper's compulsion is in the same group as my mother's empathy because they're both manipulation techniques. My power is element related, so I'd get grouped in with other elemental powers—like water or earth. As for absorbers, their name is pretty self-explanatory. Their abilities allow them to either copy or take someone else's powers. So, in cases where they need to take someone's powers, they have a few absorbers there that can do it. My mom thought maybe you were an absorber…"

Blaine's tone went dark with the last sentence. "Is that a bad thing?"

"It depends." Blaine answered unintentionally sitting up and wrapping his arms around his knees. Kurt shifted to face Blaine a little more. "Absorbers are kind of weird in the aspect that their really one power but with different ways of using it. The absorbers who work at GAIA can just take the energy source from the person without killing them…" Kurt's face paled further at the mention of death. Blaine smiled but it had no light to it. "Then, there are the absorbers who kill people when they take their energy source. The energy source—there's a scientific name for it all but I don't want to go it too deep—is essentially what gives us our powers. It's…it's like what the humans would call our souls. The absorbers who kill people can't separate the energy from our genetic needs for it, so…they just absorb the energy and that person dies."

"Oh..." Kurt said, his brain hurting far more than he cared to admit. He decided to rest his head on Blaine's shoulder until it passed.

Blaine jumped slightly at the touch but didn't bother to move it. "Absorbers like that…also tend to be a little mentally unstable. Each time they take someone's energy, it's like a little bit of that person's personality is embedded in them too. It gets to be a lot after awhile. So, they kind of have a bad name in our world. Don't worry, my mom doesn't think your one anymore. Not after I told her what happened with Karofsky."

"You did what?" Kurt jumped off the bed suddenly much to Blaine's confusion. He looked panicked and afraid. "You didn't think to ask me first before you did?"

"Kurt…I…"

"Jesus Blaine. What if they think I did it on purpose? They'll come after me, or they'll go after Karofsky!"

Blaine took a deep breath. Dear god, the look in Kurt's eyes was frightening. "Kurt, contrary to what Cooper says, GAIA…"

"Is above forcing people their will? Or making them puppets? That's not what you just told me." Blaine felt his blood start to boil. What the hell did Kurt know about GAIA? Almost a month ago, he didn't even know that there were other people with superpowers. He had to remind himself of that fact to keep himself from getting too angry.

"I know your upset, but you need to remember my mother works there. And while I may not always agree with GAIA's choices, they've helped me when I need it." He explained. Kurt faked a laugh, one he stifled by putting his hands over his face.

"Of course I'm upset, Blaine! Who the hell in their right mind wouldn't be?" Kurt practically screamed. His hands pulled away, new tears pouring down his face. "I was essentially just told my parents can't know about me, I don't know how to stop myself from flinging bullies against the wall, and oh, the one person I really trust in all this is telling his mother everything. His mother who thinks I might be a psycho killer!" Blaine heard a screechy tightening noise before the lamp by his bedside shattered. Blaine's anger subsided almost immediately, too shocked by the action to react. Kurt's eyes went wide just before more tears poured out, a piercing scream leaving his lips.

"Blaine honey, go out to your car and wait for Kurt." Robin said rushing in. Cooper, with a paper in his hand, standing in the doorway as well. Blaine, who felt bad for getting this reaction out of Kurt, wanted to stay and apologize, but Kurt was sobbing and not really ready to listen to anything he had to say. Robin had gotten to Kurt and cupped his face up to hers. "Blaine, please, just do it."

"Blaine, come on." Cooper said placing the paper on Blaine's dresser. He then grabbed Blaine and led him out of the room. Blaine saw Kurt started to relax, his sobs disappearing almost immediately. His mom was placing a spell on him. He turned back to Cooper, the guilt building as they closed the door.

"I was just trying to help..." Blaine whispered. Cooper smiled sympathetically and pat his back.

"I know, buddy…You're just not very good at it."

()()()()()()()

"How are you feeling now? Better?" Robin asked. Kurt didn't feel bad anymore; he didn't necessarily feel bad either. He felt at peace. Calm. He nodded.

"You used your powers on me, didn't you?" He said, his voice raspy from sobbing.

"I'm sorry, hon. I had to. You were getting riled up and Blaine was starting to get emotional and I didn't want things to get out of hand." She eyed the broken-lamp on the floor and then back up at Kurt. She gently guided him to sit on the bed. "Now calmly, do you want to tell me why you and Blaine were arguing?"

Kurt thought back to the moment with a rational mind. Now that he was, he felt somewhat embarrassed. "I was upset because Blaine told you about what happened with my bully…"

"Was that a problem?" Robin's tone was very cautious. Kurt realized it may not be the best idea to tell the woman who thought you may be capable of killing people that you wanted to keep a secret.

"Well, no…It's just…I was afraid I'd get in trouble, or that something bad would happen to Karofsky…I know that sounds silly, being afraid your bully might get in trouble, but it's not like I want him to disappear off the face of the earth."

Robin couldn't help but chuckle. "Kurt honey, we don't just get rid of people, I promise you. Yes, Karofsky will have to be dealt with, but I assure you I'll be taking care of it myself… I'm just going to manipulate his memory so he doesn't remember either incident….As for getting in trouble, believe me, you're not the first superhuman teenager to lose it."

"Really? Because sometimes it feels like I am."

Robin crossed her arms. She hated to admit it but in the course of the night, she did find Kurt to be likable. Endearing even. He was shy but polite and seemed to have a level of class most kids his age didn't have. Most importantly, Blaine wore the biggest smile in the world when he was around. A smile she hadn't seen since before that night.

"Look, it's not my place to say anything but Blaine's been there before. As for Cooper, he's always been there. I hate to admit it, but generally speaking everyone loses control or abuses their powers every now and then." Kurt wanted to ask more about Blaine but her tone indicated very clearly that whatever it was, it was Blaine's story to share. "Honestly, with no one around teaching you, I'm surprised it's only gotten dangerously recently."

"Thanks…I think?" Kurt responded, but he could feel something inside him lift. Robin was removing her spell, but Kurt was still relaxed. "I'm just tired of having no control in my life. "

"Well, I promise you Kurt, we'll figure it out one way or another. But on that note…" She stood from the bed and walked over to the dresser, grabbing the paper Cooper had brought in. She walked back over to Kurt and extended it. "I think you should consider this an option."

Kurt hesitantly took the paper and read it. It was a Dalton Academy transfer form. "Blaine told me your parents aren't as well off as we are—but Cooper has agreed to go in and place a charm so you can get a scholarship. The Warblers are there, so they can teach you more about your powers. And there's a zero-tolerance bullying policy."

"I can't do that. It would betraying my Glee club. Which I know sounds stupid but….they're like a family to me." Kurt said firmly. "Besides, it'd be like I'm running away…"

Robin gave him a very maternal look, like the ones Carole gave Finn whenever he talked with his mouth full. "Maybe, but who's to say you won't lose control around one of them. Today, it was a bully who deserved it. Tomorrow, it could be one of your friends or your family…" Kurt frowned. Surely, he'd never turn on his father would he? Or Finn?

But then he isn't so sure. How many times had he wanted to drop the spotlight she loved to hog on Rachel? Or what about the time Kurt had thrown the vase at Finn, just because he had ruined a sweater of his. Karofsky hadn't been the first time he'd lost control of his powers; just the first time he realized how dangerous they could be.

"I know it's hard to admit Kurt, but you don't belong in that world…And I think you've always known that. Being with the Warblers—whether we find out about your blood line or not—will give you a sense of belonging." Robin considers the next thing she's about to say. She's not sure if it's wise to put Blaine in this place—but maybe both boys would heal better if they learned from his experience. "You should ask Blaine about the Sadie Hawkins dance… listen to what he says and think about it."

()()()()()()()

Trent doesn't consider himself a secretive person. Shy maybe, but he got along with everyone in the Warblers. They shared the most risqué of jokes and during the late nights, the most personal of secrets. He knew how David feared his powers paled in comparison to Katherine's. He knows about how deeply affected by his parent's divorce Thad was. And he knows that Blaine's anger is closer to the surface than even he knows.

He also learned how to speak Italian from brushing Blaine's fingers once. He learned how to style his hair because Jeff gave him a surprise hug. And for one day when Katherine pat his shoulder affectionately, he was invulnerable. This was the darkest secret he had because in all technicality, he was an absorber. A rare type of absorber, but one all the same. He could learn things by just touching people, as well as copy their powers. The powers however only lasted about a day or two when he got them. And when he took them, he noted that person he took them from tend to be weak until the powers he took faded. It was believed that perhaps he didn't take energy but rather, borrowed it. It didn't matter what the effects were though. Superhumans still regarded absorbers with prejudice because under GAIA they caused misery, and on their own, they were capable of killing. People often feared things that were stronger than they could understand.

So no, he wasn't secretive person. He was just defensive. And sometimes, that made him feel alone.

"I could make it go away…" His eyes opened. Last he had remembered, he had decided to take a nap after a particularly long study session with Wes. Now a boy was sitting atop of him, a large, toothy smile on his face. "Honey, I could make you forget your name."

The boy laughed at Trent's confused look. Until Trent told him. "Don't you follow Blaine back to his house when he leaves?"

The eyes that were usually so confident went wide. The smile falling into a dark grimace. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

He supposed his powers gave him more than the ability take. It gave him the gift of knowledge. The moment the boy touched him, the energy seeped to Trent and suddenly he knew everything about this boy. Even in dreams—even in a different world, he was powerful enough to defeat a being nor human or really superhuman.

"He's the person you're haunting, isn't he?"

Then he woke up. Still in the bed but the boy was gone. Or at least, Trent couldn't see him. But the aura was still there. The aura that floated with the wind or seemed to touch with no rhyme or reason.

The aura that could only be described as the world beyond.

()()()()()()()

The car ride was mostly silent between Kurt and Blaine. Blaine didn't know how to approach Kurt after their argument and Kurt didn't know how to ask Blaine about the experience that sounded so personal. It was the first time neither person had anything to say to each other.

And that was very unsettling to Blaine. He was concerned he had pushed Kurt too far. He had only known Kurt for a short time but the idea that Kurt wouldn't want to even be friends—it hurt him more than he cared to admit. Blaine almost cried out in relief when Kurt broke the silence. "I'm sorry for how I acted earlier."

"Kurt, no. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have been so stupid." Blaine said, letting it all hang out. Kurt shook his head much to Blaine's surprised.

"You were just trying to help. You're always trying to help and I'm sorry that I acted so…ungrateful. Today was just a horrible day." Kurt sighed and leaned back in his seat. "You made it a little more bearable though, so thank you."

Blaine nodded and smiled. Fingers drumming a long to the music coming from the cassette player. He was left completely unprepared for the next question. "Your mom said I should ask you about the Sadie Hawkins dance…"

Blaine slammed down on the breaks. Kurt. The old car actually stalled due to the sheer force of it. Thank god the road is currently empty. The old cassette is no longer playing music. Kurt looked terrified of the expression on Blaine's face. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have brought it up. It was…"

"Kurt, it's fine…I want to tell you." Blaine admits. And he really does. For once, the desire to tell someone is so strong, Blaine can feel his eyes water. "I just—can I pull over to the side of the road?" Kurt nods and Blaine switches the car back on, only to pull it to the side of the road. He turns the car back off, taking several deep breaths.

Hesitantly, he starts to speak. "I had just come out…"

()()()()()()()

"…I felt angry because it just didn't go the way I thought it would. Dad kept trying to make me straight until I flat out refused to go along with it anymore—then he just ignored me. People at my school picked on me. I mean, they always did because…I guess they just knew I was different but it got worse when I came out. I thought maybe if I did, I wouldn't be so confused or angry all the time, but it actually got worse. I couldn't figure out why these people took my sexuality so offensively. But I just thought that if I showed them it didn't effect me—which was a lie, it was a nightmare—that they'd leave me alone. I was stupid…it just encouraged them."

Kurt wants to look away from the pain showing in Blaine's face. Those eyes though; they're impossible to turn away from. "I asked the only other out kid at school. This human I knew liked me. I wasn't sure if I wanted to ask him because he came off as kind of a tool with his flirting but at the dance, he let his defenses down and…he turned out to be a really great guy. I almost kissed him while we were waiting for my mom to come get us." Blaine smiled through most of that explanation. The fond part of the memory was cut off with a bite of the lip as his eyes turned bleak. Kurt felt his stomach toss and turned. "Then these three guys called us names. My friend made a snide comment and they just….just…"

"They beat the shit out of the both of us…" Kurt gasped, tears welling in his eyes. "It took me off guard and I just couldn't act. I don't know if I felt him slipping or if my powers started guiding me but I lost it. I started the guys on fire, I caused explosions, I even started the school on fire. The only reason I know I did is because my mom snapped me out of it mid-destruction. For those moments, all I could see was red."

Kurt felt a tear roll down his face. Damn him. He had cried enough today and now that Blaine was telling him this...Blaine was the one who needed comfort. Except Blaine leaned forward and caught the tear on his finger. "My mom stopped me before I got too crazy…and most of the damage was repairable. Two of the men that jumped us were able to have their bodies regenerated, and their memories wiped clean. The one who started it…he died. The whole incident was passed off as a chemical lab explosion."

Blaine studied Kurt's face for a minute. Kurt realized he was gauging his reaction to the fact Blaine was responsible for someone's death. The older boy could admit it should have been troublesome but to Kurt, it sounded like self-defense.

Kurt took a deep breath, preparing himself to ask the next question. "And…your friend, was he okay?"

This was when Blaine's face contorted into such a face of agony that Kurt hoped he never saw it on anyone again. The sobs seemed to beat the tears. "No…they killed him before I used my powers."

Blaine leaned his forehead against the wheel and let the tears flow. They were tears of anger, pain, and shame. "Kurt, god…you must think I'm a monster! I let my date…someone I could have come to love...die…And I-I killed h-his murderer wh…"

"Blaine. Blaine look at me…" Kurt cupped the side of Blaine's face and guided it to his eyes. Kurt didn't know how to tell this man that he was far from a monster. That he had made an honest mistake…one that Kurt could have easily made in that position.

Kurt knew the emotions were high. This was the absolute worse time to even have these thoughts. Kurt's eyes fell on Blaine's lips. On the other hand, what he needed was a moment to feel human. To give into feelings that were beyond their understanding but didn't end in chaos and destruction. Maybe later, Kurt would regret doing it but in that moment, they both needed the same thing. They needed acceptance. They needed assurance. And they needed to feel normal.

Kurt leaned across the seat and pressed his lips to Blaine's. If he could describe the action in any word—wow! He couldn't believe something so small could feel so incredible awesome. He pulled back immediately, missing the part where Blaine had met him halfway. "Blaine, god I'm sorry! I swear I wasn't trying to take advantage of you. I just…I…You'd think after today, I'd know better than to steal—"

Kurt was cutoff as Blaine launched forward and kissed him again.

**Chapter 8 done and written! God, all this writing and I still didn't get **_**everything**_** I wanted to write out. I ended up changing out the Cooper scenes I was originally going to do but Cooper will be using his powers for more mischief. **

**In the mean time, thank you all once again for the fabulous reviews, favorites and alerts! You all are simply too kind!**

**Khrystaline- I hope it just wasn't too painful, lol. I feel like maybe I should have done more with Blaine's dad but…he's really just a hard character to make dramatic since in my mind, I would think he's emotionally distant or suppressed. Aw, thank you! Really, I'm quite ecstatic it's gotten this many reviews. I just love hearing what people have to say, and enjoy the encouragement. Thank you for reviewing!**

**Ittlebitz- It just wouldn't be a night with the Andersons if Cooper didn't raise a little hell, lol. And yes, if only they could! Though, I have a feeling Kurt and his baby penguin-ness wouldn't handle the teenage boy fantasies quite as a well as Wes has. Although knowing how Wes would react to that is the reason I gave him that ability. Kurt and Blaine just can't make things easy. Thanks for the review!**

**yaoilover1013- An as usual, I'm happy to hear from you! Thank you for reviewing :) I always imagined Cooper would be the type to use his powers for his own amusement. It would just be too tempting for him not to do it. As for Kurt crying in Blaine's arms—that boy just needed a hug after all I've put him through! I think a Blaine-comforting session is worth it though.**

**confession-obsession- Aw, thank you so much! I do love x-men but I purposely tried to keep away from that or anything regarding superheroes for that matter. Just to keep it as a original as fanfiction can be—granted, not so much since it is about a t.v. show. But I'd be lying if I didn't say a little bit of influence came from x-men (though personally, I think way more came from Fire-Starter than x-men). Hope the story continues to please!**

**miss jayne76- Thank you very much! Love all the descriptions you used (fabulous as you might be able to tell is a personal favorite though, lol). You know, I've always wanted to be a super villain but I'm not sure if being cruel and evil in revealing information in stories would be frightening enough…but you know, as long as I get an evil lair. Ah! I'm glad you caught the absorber thing, especially since I explain it more in this chapter. Another hint—it will have more to do with everything than just Trent. I actually did work on this story during my break since by the time I finished my first exam; I actually had about an hour and a half before my next one. I put off studying (which was somewhat bad of me), but I was already on brain overload after the first exam. But I passed them so I consider that a success! Thank you for wishing me luck! Hope you love the new chapter :) **

**MegumiDarkAurora- I'm happy that you take the time to review at all! So please don't apologize for not reviewing. Especially since you always say such nice things. Again, I could see Cooper using his powers to annoy Blaine—he would have made a fantastic evil villain. I believe things between Kurt and Blaine are going to pick up a little now that I have a better idea of the track of their relationship in this story. Blaine had to comfort Kurt! He bought him a coffee! That and you know, Kurt is just too adorable to let cry. While I firmly believe Mr. Anderson isn't dramatic, I also believe he just can't make things easy. Fortunately, I was able to use this chapter to make Robin a little more open towards Kurt being in Blaine's life. At least her hesitance is out of concern for Blaine. As for Sebastian's part, I still kind of have to keep that card up my sleeve, but maybe this chapter gives a few more hints. I do intend to reveal it within the next couple chapters. Thanks for the review!**

**Yesiamstragegetoverit- Thank you! I hope you continue to like it :)**

**ToniBalogna978- Thank you very much! You'll have to tell me if you were right once it's revealed :) **


	9. Chapter 9

It started as a kiss. It grew into a supernova. Blaine was gentle with lips, almost hesitant, only pressing against Kurt's enough to cause contact and make friction. Kurt guessed (if only because it was Ohio—he couldn't think of any other reason a boy would dare pass up kissing this man) that this was Blaine's first kiss. That and really, besides his scared testing, Blaine was an awesome kisser. His lips were smooth, soft, and by god, so so warm.

Kurt didn't realize he was opening his mouth to rub his tongue against Blaine's lips until it had happened. Both boys froze and pulled apart. Their lips making a quiet smacking noise. Hooded eyes looking into scolding wide. "So…we kissed…"

Blaine laughed so hard he nearly snorted. "So, we did…."

"It's just- what does that mean?"

Blaine's lips were upturned. Not a smile but it has a small amount of light to it. "Kurt, let me be clear. I really care about you."

Kurt however frowned. "But…"

"I honestly don't know. Until now I…Kurt, is this really what you need right now?" Blaine asked running a hand through his hair. A few curls breaking loose from the gel. Kurt absent-mindedly tried to imagine what Blaine's hair would looked untamed. "On top of everything else? I supposed to be helping you and it seems like I keep making things more complicated."

"You are helping me." Kurt winced at the mention of their earlier argument. "And I am really sorry I yelled at you. I didn't realize you were trying to help me get to Dalton."

"So my mom talked to you about that huh?" Kurt nodded. Blaine wasn't sure whether to thank her or curse her name. It wasn't exactly an ideal time. She maybe could have waited until Kurt wasn't breaking his things in a rage.

Kurt nodded. "She said she thought Cooper could charm the Head Master so I could get in…I think he's speaking with him Monday."

Blaine did a double take. "You mean…?"

"I don't want to risk hurting someone, Blaine. I don't mean to be insensitive to your story, and I believe full-heartedly it was an accident—you're just too sweet to believe other wise…" Blaine couldn't help but smile a tiny bit at Kurt's admission. "But if someone who grew up with all of this could lose control like that, then someone like me who has no clue what they're doing could kill someone. And who knows if it'll be someone who deserves it. Rachel might piss me off by demanding a solo and I could break her neck." Kurt said and contrary to popular belief, Rachel didn't deserve to die over something like that. "I'm not thrilled about leaving, especially with Sectionals just two weeks away but I'm just too dangerous to be around them right now. That and…I'd like to go somewhere and not feel like a freak. This may be my only chance for that to happen."

"But Blaine…Before I go there I need to know…What is going on between us?" Kurt asked quietly.

()()()()()()()

Blaine frowned and once more, his feelings were playing tug-of-war. On one hand, Kurt needed a friend and mentor more than anything especially if he was coming to Dalton. On the other, what Cooper had revealed, what he felt in his heart and that kiss—that steamy, passionate, perfect first kiss— told him that Kurt wanted more. Hell, he wanted more.

But he came with a lot of baggage too. Kurt may have been able to see past Blaine's mistakes but he wasn't exactly there to witness how out of control and horrible it was. Even his own mother had a hard time believing Blaine could lose it like that. This would be Blaine's first romantic relationship since his friend died and he didn't want it to end with Kurt like it did with him. He wanted to keep Kurt safe and give him all the support he needed.

But damn those lips. Damn that dream, he wanted it all so badly. "Kurt, you were my first kiss." Blaine answered. Kurt didn't seem shocked at this admission, but his mouth did drop slightly. "I just don't know about this kind of stuff. Just that…yeah, I really like you. Like really like you."

"But this is crazy. Everything going on, we've only known each other a month. Barely even." Kurt finished for him. Blaine nodded and there was a heavy air of sorrow between them. "Blaine, I've had crushes before. None of them compare to you. With them I just felt this adoration, like I wanted them to like me. With you…" Kurt took a deep breath. "It's like I _need_ you to like me. If you told me you thought of me as just a friend, I-I- I honestly don't know what I would do. Yeah, I know that's creepy but that's how I feel."

Blaine blushed and sinked in his seat. In theory, it seemed like a bad idea to even bring this up, but since they were being honest, Blaine thought it was only fair. "Would you still feel embarrassed if I told you you've made an appearance in my dreams?"

"Yes." Kurt whispered, understanding the moment Blaine's hazel eyes darkened. Blaine felt ashamed for even bringing it up. Pulling away until Kurt caught his hand. "No, it's not because of you I'm just new to all this. I mean, really new. It's all new and I don't know if it's love right now but it's _something_."

Blaine nodded. It was a losing battle, not that he was fighting very hard to begin with. He could have the best intentions in the world but Kurt's eyes lured him back into this safe place, as if he was the one who had a compulsion spell on Blaine. It was crazy to say, but It felt like home. Somewhere he had never felt within a person before.

With his date it was adventure, a step outside of his comfort zone like baby birds flying from their next. A moment where two people had a common cause and that cause brought them together. Then with the crush he'd had on the last GAIA employee that came to check on them, Jeremiah, it had been a schoolboys dream. It was a moment he preferred to forget—when he had arranged to serenade Jeremiah with When I Get You Alone (an awesome song, but maybe he should have considered changing the 'baby girl's' to 'baby boy's' and 'her' to 'him'). This resulted in Jeremiah sitting Blaine down and telling him yes he was gay but Blaine was much too young for him, especially when he was Robin Anderson's son. They promised to be friends, but Jeremiah never followed through and Robin did the Warbler check-ups now. Looking back, Blaine realized his attraction to Jeremiah had been a crazy dream to be in love someone like him and who could handle himself if something went wrong.

Kurt was different. Kurt was strong but vulnerable. Sassy but kind. Safe but dangerous. Though it was cliché to say, Kurt was very much cold to his hot. Not in the uncomfortably way he tend to think with chilly however, but electric to touch and different to say the least. He didn't want to expect from Kurt or even if he could trust himself with him, but Kurt made it seem okay. Like all they needed was to hold on and see what would happen. And maybe he just needed to do that.

"Maybe…maybe we shouldn't jump into a relationship just yet. We should take some time to figure things out." Kurt shoulders sank at that, and Blaine had to stop himself from laughing at how adorable it was. "But until we do…we could, you know, court each other in the mean time."

"Court? Like wooing each other and spending time together with the _intention_ of dating?" Kurt smiled and then laughed. Blaine laughed with him, stroking the top of his hand with his thumb. "That's such a Private School boy thing to do."

"I know, but I'd like to try it…If you want to. As long as I'm 'courting' you, I won't date anyone else and…well, I really liked the kiss so we could keep doing that too."

Kurt's smile grew. Almost shined in the dark of the night. "They weren't allowed to kiss when they courted in the old days."

Nonetheless, Kurt leaned forward and kissed Blaine on the lips. Blaine moved his lips further against Kurt's and then pulled away. It was getting dark and his mother would start worrying about him. He was sure Kurt's parents were concerned about him. He started the car back up. "Yeah, well…you're the exception." He said with a wink.

He couldn't see Kurt now that he was looking at the road, but he could feel the boy breathing heavier. The happiness radiated off of him and seeped straight into Blaine. "For once, that's a good thing."

()()()()()()()

"Kurt, I don't understand…" Kurt sat at the kitchen table the next morning. Burt and Carole watching him with uncertain expressions. Finn pretended to be buried in his own breakfast but Kurt could tell by the stance in his shoulders that he wasn't at all pleased with what Kurt just said. Carol continued. "Why didn't you tell us about this until now?"

Kurt felt small, like a child getting a lecture. He wishes he had taken Blaine's offer for him to be here when Kurt told them. "I just thought it would make things worse…"

"Make things worse?" Burt took off his cap and ran a hand over his baldhead. "Kurt, this guy has been tormenting you for years—shoving you into lockers, throwing you into dumpsters, breaking your phone, and I find out just now that it's going on! How could it possibly get any worse than what it's grown to?"

"There's a lot of ways it could be worse." Just not any of the ways Burt thought. His dad thought it could lead to Kurt getting beaten or kill, Kurt knew it was almost the exact opposite. "That's why I think it's better for everyone if I go to Dalton before it gets worse."

Carole's trying to be the calm one here. She places a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Honey, are you sure that's the only way? You'll be saying goodbye to your friends. Westerville is almost 2 hours away – you'll either have to leave here ungodly early in the morning or board there, and this all costs money. Money we may not have."

"My friend Blaine's family has some weight at Dalton, they're pretty sure they can get me a scholarship there if I keep my grades up." Which won't be a problem. Kurt's an A student. "I can come home on weekends and holidays, so it's not like I'll be saying goodbye forever. I just…can't go to school with everyone else."

Finn lifted his head to add his piece. "But dude, we have sectionals in like 2 weeks... The Warblers and the New Directions are facing off."

"I know, Finn." Kurt states quietly.

Burt stood angrily. "I'm calling that damn school and giving them a piece of my mind. You shouldn't have to switch schools because of these punks!"

Kurt panicked. "No dad! They won't do anything about it! Even Finn can tell you that!"

Burt turned to Finn who sheepishly sunk but nodded. "You didn't try to protect him? I know a couple of those Glee kids are football players, didn't they try to throw their weight around?"

"Dad…" Kurt warns a bit fiercely. It isn't fair to accuse Finn of not looking out for Kurt because he had. The other Glee guys had tried to defend Kurt but it only ended up in a wash where no one got in trouble and all that had come out of it was more slushy attacks. People had been upset that Finn hadn't attempted to fight Karofsky or his gang but it just wasn't in him to fight, and Kurt respected that. In a way, it also showed that Finn knew Kurt wouldn't want everyone throwing punches for him. He wanted to deal with this his own way and hated seeing the regret and shame in Finn's eyes. "Can we please just stop making a big deal out of this?...We all know I'd fit in better at Dalton…" The regret deepened when Kurt admitted that. Even he felt a little bit more like crying at how true the statement was. More than just because a group of superhumans existed there.

Carole and Burt stared at each other; having a private conversation it would seem. After a long while, Carole asked. "Are sure this is what you want, Kurt?"

Wanted? No. It's not that he disliked Dalton. Under different circumstances, it might have been his dream school. He didn't like this idea of leaving behind his family and friends to go live among superhumans like him. He was losing the comfort he had grown to seek out to step deeper into the unknown. A place with so many questions with very few answers thus far.

But if he wanted answers, then he needed to take another step in. He needed to learn how to control himself so he could live among the humans he liked. Dalton wasn't what he wanted, it was what he needed. "Yes." Kurt answers with perseverance.

Burt sighs and places the baseball cap on his head. Kurt just hates how defeated he looks. "Alright then, I guess I hope this Blaine's family can get you that scholarship."

Kurt does too. And he'll know by Monday.

()()()()()()()

Floyd use to tease Robin about how little she knew about cars. Back in the old days when they still joked and laugh. Back when every time he pointed out a flaw of hers, he immediately followed with 'I love you'. She's not so sure if he's capable of love anymore but at least he taught her enough to know how to tamper with the engine.

Blaine had driven Cooper over to charm the Head Master for Kurt's scholarship, meaning that Robin would have to go pick him up. This gave her enough time to do a little investigating on Kurt Hummel, namely his family. Blaine had told her Burt ran his own car garage. He also mentioned that Kurt was pretty certain his father had no knowledge that Kurt even had powers, never mind where he got them. Still, if this boy was going to be around her son every weekday and probably most weekends, she needed to try and assure he was safe for Blaine. That and she needed to search for Kurt's identity somewhere, and if GAIA had failed her, well, his blood was the next obvious choice.

"Hello?" She called out into the garage, heels clicking against concrete. A man working under a rather large truck crawled out and looked up at Robin. She was far from what she expected Kurt's father to look like, but one look a their similar eyes, and she knew she had found the right man. "I'm sorry, but my car just stall at the light and smoke's coming out of the engine and…and..."

Sympathy and Curiosity. The two emotions that hit her first. Robin knew how innocent she could make herself out to be. Her height automatically made her seem like less of a treat— but the way her hair curled around her face and her smiles never seemed full added to that effect too. "Oh okay…I could maybe take a look at in about 20 minutes ma'am."

Every extra minute was a risk. Especially when she was running late for actual GAIA work doing this. "Please…" She zeroed in on his nametag. Burt. Burt-Kurt. How cute. "Burt, I'm late for a meeting, could you fit me in any faster?"

With a sigh, Burt pulled out from underneath the truck and gave her a friendly look. "Alright, let's have a look then."

Burt accompanied Robin back out to her car. She surveyed each movement he made and each word he said. Contrary to Kurt, Burt wasn't emotional. At least not like his son. Being around Kurt was a constant hit on her senses. Burt was calm, maybe a little bit stressed and any other emotion he had, he pushed so far back in his conscious Robin couldn't read it. Something that's rare among humans but even more so in superhumans. Robin's willing to bet that Burt is 100% human. That and his attitude is rather humble. Most superhumans carry this sense of pride and/or egotism—Cooper was a prime example.

"So, are you the Hummel?" Robin asked while Burt worked under the hood.

"Yup. Family owned since my dad started it."

Well, that was relatively easy. Robin had planned to small talk her way into the answer and was surprised that Burt had somehow answered where she was leading. The problem was it served to be more of a frustration. Burt knew his father and had to be close enough to him to want to continue the family business. The way Burt said family rather Hummel along with the very faint sense of warmth indicated Burt was probably fairly close to both his parents. Unlikely he would have been oblivious to his son's powers if neither of his parents had them. That would have left his own grandparents except Robin's intuition was telling her Burt didn't have a strain of powerful DNA in him.

That left Kurt's very deceased mother. She had to be the link or at the very least, the one with the superhuman family line. The problem was she couldn't very well ask by all means a stranger about his dead wife without arousing suspicion.

However… "I'm sorry but where's your bathroom?"

"Oh, it's just on the other side of the garage next to the office. I think I found what's wrong with your car but it's going to take a few minutes—whoever tried to fix the car before um…didn't do well."

Robin smiled at her own sabotage and walked into the garage. Fortunately the bathroom was quite literally next to the office so her heels didn't give away her true intentions. She opened the office door and quietly snuck in.

The room seemed like any other office at first. Boring shades of grey walls. Cheap yet sleek looking desk. A set up of cringe-worthy chairs that ironically, were supposed to make the place more comfortable. And a variety of photos—most of them fairly recent from cookouts to what must have been Burt Hummel's second wedding.

Finally, she spotted one picture of a younger family. Two parents—one obviously Burt, the other must have been Elizabeth Hummel, and a baby that was likely Kurt. The young couple smiled up at the camera while the woman cradled the baby, beaming like life couldn't get any better.

And wow, she was beautiful. The sort of woman who could have made Robin green with envy in her younger days. The song Jolene came up immediately. Long, gorgeous auburn hair that remained flat by her face and then curled at its ends. Skin that was pale white but looked more like cream than bone. Despite the grain of the photo, her blue eyes shimmered with an untold secret of youth yet knowledge. It was almost heart breaking to know what the fate of this woman would be. It would be if Robin wasn't hit with his feeling of uncertain familiarity.

She looked so incredibly familiar and not in a settling way. Robin felt like she was looking at something, believe or not, so much darker than she could understand. Even more so than the knowledge of the car crash itself. She grasped onto the feeling. It gave her confidence that she was one step closer to figuring this all out. Robin took out her phone and snapped a picture of the photo; thankful the picture was pinned up as opposed to framed. She noticed her phone had two messages—one from Cooper and the other from Andre Moretta, who she had kindly put in her phone as 'Asshole'.

**Asshole- Were you thinking of gracing us with your presence today? Since you seem so fond of coming and going, you won't mind doing the Crawford check-up Thursday. Your son's problems aren't mine. **

If that had been in real life, the last sentence would have been followed by a harsh almost painful tone. The same one he always used in regards to Blaine. Strong hits of guilt and anger hit her all at once. It was his problem as much as she didn't want it to be. Not that he ever cared since the day Robin turned on him when she no longer handle what their relationship was doing to her husband. It was hard to believe she ever believed Andre could know her better than Floyd. Now it seemed like she didn't know either man at all. It was frustrating and painful, and entirely her fault.

The next text was much more promising.

**Cooper- I could have charmed the pants off of him. Kurt's getting a full-scholarship and can move into the dorms as soon as he wants.**

She got one glance before she walked back out to Burt to pretend she hadn't been snooping into his life. The easy exchange of money and thank you's (as opposed to most mechanics, Burt actually gave her a bit of a deal), as well as the patient kindness he exhibited, Robin was reminded as to why she had found humans so endearing. When you found a good, honest one, it was a welcome relief from the structured, controlled world she was use to.

Not even Andre could have ruined her day as everything started to fall in line.

()()()()()()()

And that's exactly how Kurt felt when he saw the email from Dalton.

_**Mr. Hummel, **_

_**It is with great honor that we welcome you to join us at Dalton Academy…**_

_**()**_

**And there's chapter 9! Sorry it took so long to write. Again, so many things to cover, and wasn't completely sure how to get it there. Hopefully now that some of knots are worked out I can get chapters up faster. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to do the scene with Cooper and the Head Master, it just didn't work out but now that Kurt is officially joining Dalton, we'll get to see more powers all around!**

**As usual, you all have been very very kind with your reviews, alerts, and favorites! Thank you very much and hopefully, you all aren't too frustrated with the delay.**

**Lar of Luyeia- Thank you! It was a rather emotional chapter for Kurt. I can't help but feel like I'm torturing the poor guy. Hopefully the kiss made up for it though. Thanks for the review!**

**KyoxRaine- Almost together—lol, sorry, probably going to hate me after reading this chapter. We'll have to see about Trent :) Thanks for reviewing!**

**ToniBalogna978- Thank you! We'll have to see if your theory is right. Although I'm not a 100% how exactly everything is going to play out, so anything can happen. Hope you like the new chapter!**

**miss jayne76- Love fabulous! It's the only way you can express so much joy (well, that and marvelous but I digress). Not entirely sure what Trent's place is in this story yet but I know he and Kurt will have quite a bit to bond over (and again, plays a part in Kurt's education about his bloodline). Opps, being a tease again :) Sorry that it took so long to update despite finishing those horrible exams. Thanks as always for the review!**

**yaoilover1013- Aw thank you! And yeah, Floyd is kind of being a douche bag right now. Hopefully he'll get his act together, but we'll have to see :) Same story with Trent. So many mysterious secrets and so much to write! Was glad I got to end the last chapter with the kiss. Thanks for the review!**

**Khrystaline- lmao, I love the enthusiasm! Sorry that the update came so late, hope you love it though :) Thanks!**

**Ittlebitz- The first of many! And hopefully more. Thanks for the review!**

**cynthiacyvon- Ugh, I know! It's so hard to keep Burt in the dark about Kurt's powers. He's hands-down one of my favorite t.v. dad's. Thanks for the review!**

**Muchacha- Thank you very much! Lol, yeah, maybe that's why they like using Harry Potter references so much. Dalton does remind me a little bit of Hogwarts :) **


	10. Chapter 10

"What? Kurt, you can't leave now!"

"No, you can't leave. Period. Why are we even talking about this?"

"Running away like a dog with his tail between his legs. Didn't expect it out of you, Porcelain."

Kurt's standing in the middle the choir room of his glee club. Well, after today, it won't be his Glee club. He'll be in a different place among his own kind. His heart aches just as much as anyone else's here, but he can't tell him them the truth.

"I don't expect any of you to understand it…" Kurt quietly whispered. "But it's just safer this way. I'm sorry."

"This is insane! He bullies you and you're the one who has to leave? And you're leaving willingly? That's not the Kurt Hummel I know." Mercedes growled. "There's something you're not telling us, so just spill it already."

"Guys, stop it!" Mr. Schuster finally breaks him. Yet, when he clears his throat, he's speaking to Kurt. "Kurt, can't we try to talk to Figgins about this? See if we can't get anything done about it?"

Kurt took a deep breath through his nose. "For years, I've been tossed into dumpsters, slushied in my face, threatened to get beaten…when has Figgins ever stopped any of it? Why would he start now? To him, it's no different than what any of us are getting. But someone is targeting me specifically and it's getting dangerous." He hopes it sounds convincing. Most of it is true. He just can't add in the fact that he's the one who could kill Karofsky, or any of them.

He looks at Finn with pleading eyes. Begging him to step in since Finn knows what's going on with Kurt. Finn hesitantly does so. "Everyone just…stop being selfish for ten seconds alright? Kurt's life was put in danger and he's scared…do you really think he'd want to stay here? I wouldn't have lasted this long if I were him."

"Please sasquatch… We all get shit for being here." Santana sneered.

"Said the head cheerleader who maybe got slushied once!" Finn shot right back. Santana threw her head back in shock. Finn barely ever raised his voice. The one time he did, it was when he had found out about Quinn and Puck. With a quieter voice, he continued. "I know no one wants Kurt to leave. You think I'm happy I finally get a brother and now he has to live somewhere else? But if that's where he's going to be safe, then I'd rather have him there than…just….no where dude."

And Finn's being dramatic, but Kurt realizes he's scared. Kurt warned him about what had happened with Cooper and Chelsea. Granted, it's hardly the same situation. Kurt had no idea GAIA even existed when Finn found him out. Cooper knew very well what the guidelines were and what would happen if he told someone before he was given permission. However, with all this new information (mainly that GAIA actually does this to people) Kurt's not willing to take any risks that might separate him from his family. So until then they have to quiet, which is nothing for Kurt because he already has so much going on. For Finn, it's going to be a little like walking on a tight rope. Not exactly comforting when Finn had terrible balance.

Everyone looked uncomfortable. They all had plenty to say but no one wanted to make things any worse. Most of them met Kurt with tears in their eyes and reluctant support. Santana glared at Kurt until he felt his soul grow cold and broken. He decided to leave before the tears fell and would never stop. For the last time, he walked out of the place that had been his safe house at McKinley for years.

And ignored the beat of his heart that insisted he should go back.

()

Kurt emptied his locker into his backpack as he waited for Blaine to arrive. Since Kurt would likely be spending most of his time at Dalton, his parents decided that Finn would benefit more from having his car. The conditions being that the boys had to share whenever Kurt was home and Finn would bring him back home whenever possible and if Kurt wanted. The arrangement suited Kurt fine—if he needed a ride, he was sure Blaine could give him one.

"So, you're really just leaving like that, huh?"

Kurt didn't look up. He didn't need to see the person to know who it was. The sarcastic tone gave it all away. "What do you care, Santana? It's not like we're friends or anything."

And it's true, they're not. Maybe Santana liked him a little bit more than other people but really, he wasn't sure if she had any real friends besides Brittany. And that whole relationship was complicated enough on it's own. However, Kurt and Santana's relationship in its purest form was maybe acquaintances.

"Maybe because we have more in common than you think…" Kurt rolled his eyes. Oh yeah, they were kindred spirits because he was an out and proud gay man and she was a closet lesbian too worried about labels to come out. He must have forgot about that. The thought was so cliché and narrow minded; he couldn't believe Santana was hinting at it. At least he thought that's what she was leaning towards until she told him. "You're going to Dalton to join the Warblers, which means the rumors Karofsky spread about you years ago were true."

A collection of folders fall from his hand and plummet to the floor. He finally faced Santana. "You- you know about the Warblers?"

Santana nodded, and then took a look around the hallways to make sure they were alone. After a moment, she pressed her hand onto the next locker. After a moment or so, Kurt saw frost begin to form around it. The temperature itself began to drop as a layer of ice collects around her hand like ivy on an old building. Just as Kurt's breath started to show she pulled her hand back.

The ice melted and water dripped down the front of the lockets. Kurt had never been amazed by water. "You're superhuman."

"No shit." Santana threw back, but a smile crossed her face. "Technically, it's called Hydrokinesis but I like to look at it as being a certified ice queen."

Kurt broke his stare and leaned down to collect the folders he just dropped. Before coming back up, he bit his lip. "If you knew, why didn't you tell me?"

When he stands back up, their eyes meet. Brown meeting glasz. It seemed off to him that her eyes were so dark now. People with powers likes hers were, at least on t.v. and in books, suppose to be kind and nurturing. Santana was anything but. "Because GAIA has these 'guidelines'" She air quoted the words with the same disgust Cooper bore. Hers maybe a little deeper than his was. "I didn't know for sure if you were a badass. It could have just been something the jocks made up to protect their egos."

"Well, no one knows anything about me so I don't see why you would be any different."

Santana threw her head back and laughed. His eyes narrowed at her. It was maybe the first time anyone had called him out on being whiney about his abilities. "So, you think you're going to go to Dalton and find answers? What, how do you think it's going to go, Porcelain?"

Kurt's just shaking his head and pulling out more stuff to place in his bag. He just managed to pull out his emergency hairspray when Santana slams the door shut. "No tell me…Do you think you'll get there and everyone will be all buddy, buddy and you'll realize 'oh god, this was what was missing from my life!'?..." Santana got closer. Her voice heavy with a knife-like edge. "You think you'll go there and everything will make sense and you'll everything about yourself? Well, I hate to ruin a good party, Porcelain but that's not how it works. That world really isn't any different from the human world. Just as corrupted and just as hateful as the human one. The only difference is they can get away with more…."

"Santana, I didn't know you went here." Blaine came up behind Kurt and leaned down to grab his bag for him. Santana took one look at Blaine and her whole expression faded into disgust. Without even a parting glance to Kurt, she turned and stomped away. Kurt could feel the temperature dipping around him. "What was that all about?"

Kurt opened his locker door to grab the few things he had left. "Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing."

"It's too complicated for here. We'll stop at the Lima Bean for coffee and I'll explain it. I was planning to anyway if that's alright."

Kurt smiled for the first time in almost two hours. "Scalding hot coffee. You sure know how to woo a guy, don't you?"

Blaine chuckled as Kurt closed his locker door. "Nope, we're saving the wooing for later."

()()()()()()()

"Santana hates me. More specifically, my family." Blaine began as he watched Kurt pour cream into his coffee. It might have been more practical to take the coffee on the run but between all of Kurt's things in Blaine's already crowed car, it wasn't really a comfortable place to drink coffee. Besides, between the hour and a half ride and his announcement to the New Directions, Kurt's nerves were feeling a little on edge.

"That much was obvious. I don't think I've seen her look at Rachel with that much contempt."

The two young men then picked their usual table (and it was so exciting and weird to Kurt that they had a usual) and Blaine smiled half-heartedly. "I guess I can't blame her really. If it were me, I'd be pissed too."

Kurt took a sip of his coffee and leaned on his hand. "Why do I have a feeling I'm about to hear some juicy superhero gossip?"

Blaine laughed at Kurt and leaned forward too, hand reaching across the table to grab Kurt's. This wasn't anything new per say, but he couldn't help but stare at the gesture. "Well, before my mom was, Santana's mother was in charge of Integration at the Ohio segment of GAIA. From what I understand, the director, Andre Moretta had an affair with her during that time but fired her shortly after she became pregnant with Santana and replaced her with my mom."

"But why would…Oh…" Kurt said breathlessly as the pieces fit together. Wow. He's met Maribel Lopez before. Seen her at the Glee performances or at Finn's football games. Always first row and always so supportive. But there was never a Mr. Lopez and he never thought to ask. Santana said her father was a doctor once, but it didn't make sense considering she lived in Lima heights. Now it was clear it was all a lie to hide the truth. "So, this Andre is Santana's dad?"

"The term very loosely. The only reason he claimed Santana as his own was because Maribel threatened to rock the boat if he didn't. It was kind of a local scandal—Andre was already married and had another daughter. Some people who wanted him out the directors chair tried to use it but to Maribel's credit, she didn't want to make things worse for Santana."

"But why does she blame your family? Just because your mom replaced her mom?"

Blaine scratched the back of his with a small noise of discomfort. "Not entirely…there were rumors going around that Moretta had a thing for my mom. Never mind my mom was next in line for a promotion, but because she's a woman they tried to use her to further incriminate Moretta. I know my mom though—she and my dad may not get along but she'd never cheat on him and she worked hard to get to where she was."

Kurt nodded in agreement. He had only met Robin Anderson once but honestly, it was hard to dislike her. Robin had conviction and loyalty written all over her. She may not always agree with GAIA but she defended the organization to the very end. And she helped Kurt out when he just about lost control on Blaine. He didn't see her, as the type to cheat or use her body to get ahead—especially If Blaine was anything like her.

"It's crazy, I didn't even know Santana had powers…"

Blaine wore a listless smile. "She probably feels like she doesn't have a place in our world because of the scandal and how many people have tried to use her or her mother. I can't blame her for being angry at my mom…but it doesn't change anything. She didn't make you feel bad about switching schools, did she?"

Kurt thought back to what Santana said. About how humans and superhuman's really weren't that different but GAIA could get away with more. He was beginning to wonder if the society he was entering was anymore balanced than the one he was leaving.

But the look on Blaine's face, the concern in his eyes, it called for Kurt to trust him. "Everyone has, but this is what's best for me." He said, giving Blaine's hand a squeeze.

()()()()()()()

It's nearly dinnertime when they finally make it to Dalton. David, Wes, and redheaded girl that Kurt's never seen before were standing outside. They walk over just as Blaine's car finds it's usual spot.

"Oh god, you're still driving this P.O.S?" David said gently knocking on the hood. The banging is still louder than a light knock should bring. Blaine tsked at the boy and opened the back of his car where Kurt's things were.

The girl gave it an approving nod. "Davey, don't hate. I think it's cute. It's red just like me." She then looked to Kurt and gave him a smile, she extended her hand. "Hi. Katherine Rivers. You must be the infamous Kurt I keep hearing about."

Kurt has an easier time getting along females than he does with males. He suspects that Katherine is one of the Warbler's girlfriends and that Blaine asked them to invite her for this very reason. "Kurt Hummel, it's nice to meet you." Kurt accepts her hand.

"Katie here is from Crawford, Dalton's sister school." David explained. Kurt nodded and 'ah'd' though he would have guessed from the uniform. "They have a group like the Warblers too. The Cindys."

"Crawford Cindys. Cute." Kurt complimented with a small giggle. Wes snorted but Katherine laughed.

"Well we thought so. Oh! Davey do you have it all?" Kurt turned around to see Blaine piling all his things into David's arms. The pile was humongous and David couldn't possibly be able to see but he made a noise of approval. Kurt was shocked but remembered that he was the Warbler with super strength.

Blaine jolted his key towards the school. "Alright so lucky us, Kurt's room is on the first floor near the commons area so it's not that far to go. I managed to convince Trent to let him room with him."

"Really? Would love to know how you managed that." Wes mumbled.

Kurt eyed David with concern. "David, it's my stuff, let me carry something."

"Nah man, I got it." David said as he walked by him towards the school. Katherine laughed again and rolled her eyes.

"Davey's trying to show how manly he is. Wasted effort. I have to go before Dalton finds out there's an unauthorized girl on campus. It was nice to meet you Kurt." Katherine gave him a parting smile as she walked out to her car. "Don't forget! We have the Christmas Spectacular to do and I was picked as female lead." She said that part while sticking out her tongue and pointing to it making a gagging noise.

Kurt gave Blaine a curious look. "It's something Crawford and Dalton do together after Sectionals. Come on, I bet you're starving."

()()()()()()()

Kurt was a little over-whelmed at dinner. He met so many of the Warblers and tried to make a list of them and their powers. Jeff is the one he talks to the most but really is friendly and accepting and makes him feel welcomed. He reminds himself to make a chart of everyone later so he won't mix up anyone's names or powers.

After a little while, Blaine walks Kurt back to his room, but gets a phone call before Kurt can invite him in. Blaine looks at the caller i.d. and frowns. "Sorry, I have to take this…"

"But I haven't met my roommate…" Kurt doesn't mean to sound whiney but he didn't like the idea of rooming with someone he didn't know to begin with. Never mind having never met him. Blaine gives him an apologetic smile.

"It's my dad, otherwise I would. I'm sorry."

Kurt sighed. "No it's fine. You're still walking me to breakfast tomorrow right?"

"Bright and early. Goodnight." Blaine kisses his cheek before he swiftly walks away. Kurt blushes at the motion.

"Oh and you owe me some wooing…" He calls after Blaine. Blaine looks over his shoulder.

"We'll see about that."

Kurt shakes his head but smiles as he unlocks the door to his room. Inside is a half decorated room with two beds, a half-full closet, two beds, two dressers (poorly coordinated into the room, clearly it had been rearranged for one person before Kurt's arrival) and one desk. Kurt's luggage is sitting somewhat neatly on his bed. He noticed the baby-faced, chocolate haired boy reading on the bed first and then the large vase of roses sitting on the desk.

"Oh my god, they're beautiful. Are they yours?" Kurt breathed before a second thought. The baby-faced boy looked up and lifted his lips shyly.

"No, I think they're yours."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude, I just never saw roses so full before. You must be Trent. I'm Kurt…" Kurt walks over to shake Trent's hand but Trent moves away from the action—practically jumps away.

Then Trent looks down ashamed. "Sorry, I just…don't like to be touched. Because of my powers."

"Oh I see…don't apologize. I'm sorry." Kurt quickly pulls back his hand and Trent gives him a friendly smile. "What are your powers…out of curiosity?" Trent looks down again and Kurt quickly takes it back. "Um, you know what…Why don't I just unpack and then we can talk a little bit. I've never shared a room with someone before so this is kind of overwhelming for me."

Trent nodded in agreement. "Yeah, me too."

Kurt however peers at the flowers. He touches a petal lightly. "So does Dalton give all its new students flowers? Kind of an odd tradition for all boys school."

The other boy smirks. "I wish we got roses for just going here, but no. I think those have a card buried somewhere in there." Sure enough, Kurt manages to dig out a card wedged within the stems. It's blue and smells like familiar cologne. Blaine's cologne.

Kurt opens the card and reads the message inside.

_So very excited we got you on our side Mr. Bond._

_Sincerely,_

_The Soviets (Blaine)_

_p.s. How's this for courting?_

Kurt smiled at the note. The whole idea was cheesy—stupid jokes upon cliché romantic gifts. However, it was perfect and everything Kurt had ever wanted, even if they weren't technically speaking together.

Dalton wasn't so daunting. At least with Blaine there.

**And we've officially reached 10 chapters! (throws confetti everywhere). I'll just say that frozen yogurt I had earlier was in celebration of that. So out of curiosity, if in the next chapter I had Kurt going to Fight Club, anyone have any thoughts on that? Anyone they'd want to see him fight possibly?**

**In any case, thank you all so much for your reviews, alerts, and favorites! I say it all the time but they all mean so much to me and keep me writing. And at 10 chapters, The Rising Sun is officially up to 53 reviews! Which is awesome and I can't thank you guys enough for!**

**Ittlebitz- Duh, duh, duh! (The way you said Dalton called for dramatic music too). Yeah, believe me making them go slow is just maddening to me—that's why I usually like writing them in established relationships because they can do whatever they want, but if things go the way I want them to, they'll be doing more than wooing soon. Ah yes, and hopefully we'll be learning more about Elizabeth in the next chapter as well :) Thank you for reviewing!**

**Yaoilover1013- Thank you as always for reviewing! Hope you like the update!**

**tokyogirl0093- (Waves back) Hey! Thank you so much! I hope it continues to entertain. I don't want to be a disappointment, lol. As for your question, I think when I envisioned the scene, I saw him going kind of see-through as he passed through the walls. Especially since he didn't know he was doing it. If he had more of an idea and was passing though quickly, I think it would go cleaner (as in, he remains more visible as he slips through). More like I'd imagine a ghost would do. Good question! Thanks for asking!**

**ToniBalogna978- Thank so much :) Unfortunately, I didn't get to dive in too much with his interaction with the Warblers but we'll have more of that next chapter. An all boys school where everyone has powers sounds like a dream come true though…Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like the update.**

**Yesiamstragegetoverit- And there was much rejoicing! If I were Kurt, I think I'd be somewhere in between "Oh, this place is awesome!" and "Oh, what have I gotten myself into?" Thanks for reviewing! **

**Glleek23- Oh I'm just grateful when you take the time to review! And of course, read my stories (which I know you've been faithfully reviewing and reading a lot of them which I appreciate!). Thank you so much for doing both! Glad you liked the kiss. Not really planned but at that point even I was like "Ugh, just make out already!" Even in my stories, Blaine and Kurt take frustratingly too long to get together. Thanks again! Hope you like the update!**


	11. Chapter 11

Kurt found his first day of Dalton to be over-stimulating. On one hand, it was nice to walk through the halls without worrying about Karofsky shoving him or his powers acting out without his control. On another, it was exhausting to keep up with Dalton's already heavy workload, especially since he was a bit behind. Even the Warblers were a bit of a mixed bag. They welcomed Kurt with open arms, but they were all so fascinated and enthralled with him that he hardly had a moment to catch his breath. At least he got some quiet with Blaine. None of the boys dared to interrupt when Blaine had his hand in Kurt's.

Warbler practice was the after the final class. A sea of blue and red filled the room as David, Thad, and Wes took the front. "Warblers, as many of you already know, we have a new student among us. Kurt Hummel." Wes began. Every head that wasn't looking at Kurt turned towards him. Kurt smiled uncomfortably and gave a small wave. "We would like to remind everyone to be accepting and kind to Kurt as well as respect his privacy. Kurt, is there anything you'd like to add?"

Kurt cleared his throat and stood, the smile remaining on his face. "I'd just like to say thank you for welcoming me to Dalton and the Warblers…Especially since blue and red are really in this year." He cursed his own feeble attempt to be witty. Which was part of the problem. Usually, it wasn't hard for him. His mind spit out sassy comebacks like a machine. But the room felt so full and every eye was on him. "Love the outfits by the way."

He sat back down and blushed furiously. Blaine grasped his hand and gave him a supportive grin. Thad nodded his head and smiled. Wow, were the boys around here really that happy? "Thank you Kurt. Now then, let's move on to more pressing matters—Sectionals. We'd like to thank everyone who auditioned. It was a difficult choice but after much consideration, we've decided to give the duet to Nick and Jeff."

"Yeah buddy!" Nick shouted. The best friends high-fived much to Kurt's amusement. There's a generous round of applause before it goes right back to business.

"So with that in mind, our set list goes as such— Blaine singing _Soul Sister_ by Train, our separate ensembles singing _Fireflies_ by Owl City, and finally, Jeff and Nick singing _Uptown Girl_ by Billy Joel. Any questions or comments?"

Kurt wanted to say something. For a show choir competition, the songs just seemed so…popish? Where was the rock or the Broadway or mixture of everything he was use to at McKinley? His fingers dug into his pants. "Kurt, are you alright?" Blaine whispered into his ear. Kurt nodded and just leaned back. It would be rude to rock the boat on his first day. Besides, it was fairly clear the council pretty much had the last say on everything.

"Good." David stated. "Then next, we have the Christmas Spectacular. As many of you know, it's tradition for Crawford and Dalton to each pick one vocalist and have the two perform at the local Christmas Spectacular to represent the schools. The song picked this year is _Baby, It's Cold Outside_. The Cindys have picked Katherine Rivers as their female vocalist."

"Jack…" Wes warned the Warbler five feet away from Kurt.

David chuckled lightly. "As such, we will be holding auditions for the male—"

Thad cleared his throat before David could finish. "Actually David, Wes and I would like to motion that Blaine Anderson be picked to represent Dalton at the Christmas Spectacular."

David's head flipped over to Thad suddenly. The friendly smile Kurt had seen over and over replaced with growing anger. "And my fellow Warbler council members didn't think it was important to discuss this with all three council members present?"

The three men then pulled together and whispered franticly to each other. The room was quiet enough that whispering was hardly effective. Kurt thought to bring attention to this but Jeff held up his hand.

"David, you're being ridiculous. Blaine is our lead soloist."

"Well, Katherine is _my_ girlfriend!"

"Precisely. Did you expect we'd hold auditions and give you the part based solely on that? Honestly, you should be thankful it's Blaine and not Jack."

"You should have at least given me the chance!"

"David, you're being unprofessional."

"No shit Wes. By the way, did you ever think about maybe telling me about this before the Warbler meeting so we don't have to have this little moment in front of the kids?" David gestured around the room. Just as all three leaders looked up, all the boys stared into different places and started muttering to themselves. Kurt turned to Blaine out of reflex and Blaine ended up laughing. The smell of mint and coffee wafting between them. "Whatever…just…put it to a vote."

Thad spoke loudly, grabbing everyone's attention once more. "Who here votes that Blaine Anderson should represent Dalton at the Christmas Spectacular?"

Kurt raised his hand along with most of the other Warblers. Blaine and two other boys kept their hands down. Figures Blaine wouldn't vote for himself to get the solo, that was just him. Not that it mattered, the majority was clear. "Then it's decided. Blaine Anderson will be representing Dalton at The Christmas Spectacular."

The applause was interrupted with a loud creaking bang. David had stood up, his fist coming down on the desk. The wood broke under his power. David just stood and grabbed his bag, strolling out of the room in a way that would have made Rachel Berry proud. There were a few moments of uncomfortable silence. Then Thad's voice broke though. "Okay, so next on our list…"

()

"Sorry about the dramatics. I swear, that doesn't happen all the time." Blaine caught up to Kurt in the hallway, walking backwards as Kurt proceeded forwards. The counter-tenor chuckled.

"It's fine. Makes me feel a little at home actually." Kurt assured, before asking. "Is David going to be okay?"

"Oh yeah, he'll be fine. He's not mad at me, he just…he gets frustrated about Katherine sometimes."

Kurt cocked his head, managing to catch Blaine before he ran back first into another Dalton student. Kurt was amazed when Blaine just shot the boy an apologetic look and the boy actually smiled back and nodded his head. Kurt knew the Warblers were more revered than the New Directions. However, it was a complete shock to be in a place where people moved around them or talked about them like the jocks at his old school were talked about. "He's frustrated about Katherine?"

"It's complicated but Katherine's got a pretty strong power for a superhuman and I think it just makes him insecure at times. Like he doesn't deserve her. It doesn't help that half the straight guys in the Warblers fantasize about her….they can't really help it, it's not like we have a surplus of women around here."

Kurt nodded along and was about to add something when he felt the strangest thing. Wet, cold went past him and he shivered. "Blaine, did you…."

Then it's all gone and a laugh rings through his ears. "Sorry, that was me..." Kurt and Blaine turned around and Nick was standing behind them with a smile on his face. He chuckled more at Kurt's reaction. "Vapor. Not exactly a great power but the reactions are always priceless… Blaine, you got the text right?"

Blaine suddenly looked somewhat embarrassed. "Ummm, no…I broke my phone."

"You did?" Kurt asked. He then realized that normally, he might have noticed except he and Blaine had pretty much been together all day. Nick tsked and shook his head.

"Let me guess, your old man?" Blaine nodded. "In that case, I'm surprised you're not the one calling Fight Club tonight."

"Someone called Fight Club? Who? David?" Kurt raised an eyebrow at the boys. Fight Club? Like the movie?

"No, one of the Cindys. They're having their inspection today so I think they're stressed out." Nick slapped Kurt on the shoulder. "We'll finally get to see some of those mysterious powers of yours, huh Kurt?"

Kurt looked as confused as ever as Nick started to fade back into the liquid. He turned to Blaine for an explanation. "Fight Club. It's where we get together and let our powers loose. We use it as a therapy."

"You mean…. you actually fight each other?" Kurt asked, a mixture of intrigue and shock in his face. Blaine chuckled softly.

"It sounds a little barbaric but it's actually a lot of fun. And when the frustration gets to be too much, we figure it's better to use our powers on each other than allow ourselves to attack humans." Blaine's humor faded as he realized how stiff Kurt had become. "It's not like a mandatory Warbler thing. You don't have to go if you don't want to."

"No, no…it sounds interesting." Kurt had never been a fighter. Any time he hurt someone it was only in defense. Needless to say, the idea of attacking someone on purpose made him uneasy. But he could admit, it also sounded kind of exciting. He could understand the logic behind it—use your anger on someone who can handle it as oppose to someone who could be killed by it. "Do I have to fight?"

Blaine offered an apologetic smile. "First timers always fight."

()()()()()()()

"And this is the East wing study lounge. Mostly used by us." Robin was only half listening as the girl—Katherine Rivers, showed her around the school. Every once in awhile, GAIA issued inspections for the teens growing up within their bounds. This was somewhat less complicated by teens choosing to join together in groups like the Warblers and the Cindys. Robin usually didn't bother with these tedious matters- that was what the interns were for, but Andre had sent her here as punishment for being late to work. She did do the Warbler check-ups since the unfortunate incident when her son serenaded one of the interns (poor Jeremiah swore up and down to Robin that he would never date her underage son) but the Cindys were—well, a little less inhabited.

Boys in dorm rooms. Parties going late into the night. An intern had once caught them sitting in this very room passing a bottle of vodka and playing strip poker. Andre had made comments about how out of control the Cindys were, Robin had in turn, pointed out more than once that his oldest daughter, Tatiana, had been the biggest partier at Crawford when she was a student. Still, she had heard rumors that things had settled down a bit now that this Katherine Rivers was in charge. However, Robin knew a thing or two about teenage girls, herself once being one, and figured the frightened looks and unsettling movements among the Cindys were for one reason or another.

"I see. Do any humans come here as well?" Robin asked. Katherine smirked.

"Yeah, but we usually talk in code or pretend to be cliché-bitches until they leave. One of the many pros of being at an all girls school." Robin laughed and trailed her fingers among the fireplace. Taking a moment to note the many pictures placed upon it.

"That's one way to look at it, I suppose. I hear you got the female-lead for the Christmas Spectacular. Congratulations." She wasn't sure, but she thought she saw the already fake-smile on Katherine's face lessen just a bit. Robin raised an eyebrow. "You're not excited?"

"No ma'am, I am… It's just caused a bit of a rift between my boyfriend and I. You've probably met him—his a Warbler and I think a friend of Blaine's."

"Yes, I probably have then. What's his name?"

"David Mack."

"Oh, I know the Mack family fairly well. His mom was a Crawford girl too, was she not?"

"Yeah, I think so." Katherine watched a couple Cindys peer into the door, watching as the inspection carried on. Behind them, a few of the girls were running in the halls to get rid of inappropriate things before the bedroom check. Katherine bit her lip, as it certainly didn't look discrete with the door half-open.

But when she glanced over at Robin, the older woman eyes were caught on a photo. Katherine leaned over to look at the photo, hoping to distract Robin further. "Oh, that's a picture of the first class to graduate from Crawford. The class of 1924. Pretty cool, huh?"

Robin's eyes widened. "1924?"

"Well, yeah. You couldn't tell by the clothing?" Her tone manages to just edge off the sarcasm with confusion. Robin doesn't seem to be listening; she's staring at the photo in disbelief. "Mrs. Anderson, are you alright?"

Robin blinked and seemed to break out of her trance. "I thought I saw a relative of mine. I don't think it's her."

Katherine nodded her head in a patronizing matter. She didn't believe the woman but couldn't think of a good reason for her to lie. "Oh…"

The truth was Robin did recognize the girl. The one in front row, way left. The picture was grainy and black and white; she couldn't see the red in her hair or the blue in her eyes but she could see the brightness in her smile and the beauty that radiated from her. A beauty that carried almost a creepy feeling now.

For the woman identified at the bottom as Elise Donaghue was a mirror image of Elizabeth Hummel.

()()()()()()()

Kurt wasn't sure exactly what to expect out of fight club. Blaine had only told him to wear his worse clothes—even when Kurt insisted he didn't have bad clothes. He settled for his loosest undershirt and a pair of non-skinny jeans (apparently, his only pair) and rode in one of the three cars heading for Fight Club. Two boys managed to squeeze into the back of Blaine's mustang.

"Your quite an attention drawer, Kurt. We have more Warblers than ever coming out tonight to see you and your skills." Jeff offered with a light laughed, legs half draping over Nick's within the cramp space. Kurt fidgeted nervously. "Don't worry, fight club isn't like in the movie. No body gets injured too badly."

"That's so reassuring Jeff." Nick nudged Jeff's arm. The two boys in the back started wrestling and Kurt felt the tension lift just a little bit. What the hell had happened to him? One day, he was the fashionista at McKinley getting thrown in the dumpster, the next he was about to enter a place where he'd be expected to fight and probably the main event at that.

He wasn't sure if this was good or not.

()()()()()()()

Blaine ran around and opened the door for Kurt and held his hand. Kurt chuckled anxiously and accepted it. "Here?"

"Courtship is a devotion of time Kurt, not a scheduled thing." Blaine said with a smile. Kurt smiled back and accepted the hand. Blaine couldn't explain the adrenaline rush that caused him. Usually, he was angry when he went to fight club. The rush he got was the excitement to release his feelings and the chance to make someone else feel the way the world seemed to make him. This was different—looking at Kurt gave him the feeling he felt just before going on stage. Or the deep breath he took just before he sang. It was a happier rush. It was that same rush that caused him to lean in and kiss Kurt's cheek. "You don't have to do this."

"Is it weird that I kind of want to?" Kurt whispered, his eyes unfocused but almost sparkling with affection.

"No, no it's not."

"Hey get a room or get your asses in the warehouse!" Jeff called out before grabbing Nick's hand and running towards the warehouse. Kurt shot Blaine a look.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

Never releasing Blaine's hand, they walk inside of the warehouse. Inside, Kurt recognizes Katherine, but none of the other girls. Katherine is standing right in front of David—trying to capture his attention but seeming to have a hard time doing so. It looks like either one might snap any minute. So far from the teasing couple he had seen yesterday.

He's shocked when out of nowhere David picks Katherine up and throws her up against the warehouse wall. The wall actually dents as she falls to the ground. A few of the Cindys try to rally to her but Katherine is up and pushing them away. "It's fine, I said start!" She then rushes forward and delivers a brutal kick to his stomach. David falls back. Kurt manages to just get out of the way before he's right back in it. Kurt watches with wide eyes as the two move and deliver blow after blow. There was nothing graceful or beautiful about the display. It was brutal and cringe worthy.

By the time the fight ended with David pinning Katherine against the same wall he had thrown her against, Katherine smiles. "Way to show some enthusiasm, babe."

David threw his head back and laughed. "Shut up." He pulled himself away and Katherine pushed herself away from the wall. Jeff's fingers dug into Kurt's shoulder.

"Come on, I want to see those powers of yours!" Kurt was about to object when Blaine spoke up.

"No, I'm fighting him."

**And there's chapter 11! Sorry it took so long, I've hit a little of a writing rough where my focus is anywhere but my writing. I assure you; updates are coming as quickly as possible though. **

**So, with that in mind—thank you very much to my very patient readers for reviewing, alerting, and favoriting the story. You all are incredibly awesome, and The Rising Sun is officially at 60 reviews! Woo!**

**Illlebitz- Mhm, not going to lie it was sort of a spontaneous decision to give Santana powers, hopefully one I don't regret. And I do miss the Warblers on Glee (even if Sebastian made them all his bitch, which I'm not happy about), but I love reading the fanfiction a bit more because the writers always come up with such fun things for them Plus, to quote dream-Kurt in my story, you never know 'what the Dalton boys are up to after hours." Thanks for the review :)**

**ToniBalogna978- Thanks! And yes, we haven't seen the last of Santana, though she might be gone for a few chapters. As for Kurt's powers, well, I've been rather vague about what his powers truly are but they're best described as 'ghost' powers, so I would say it's more like he blends in with surroundings but his abilities aren't just limited to that. I plan on revealing more about them in the next couple chapters :) Thanks for the review!**

**miss jayne76- It seems FF does these things sometimes, sometimes it will be days before I get a notice about my own story getting post. In any case, I'm glad you loved both chapters. Yes, I know, I'm evil but we'll find out more about Trent and Kurt in the next couple chapters. Hopefully, FF won't make you wait to read it! Hope you like the new chapter, thanks for the review!**

**Sharonrose737- Thank you very much! Lol, I appreciate the comment but believe me, I'm not complaining about 58 reviews. Hopefully, it continues to please :)**

**yaoilover1013- Thank you! Yeah, lol, it's classic gentleman Blaine. Which Blaine is still a gentleman most of the time but he gets wrapped up in angry Blaine a lot (who is just as sexy). Hope you like the update! Thanks for the review!**

**MegumiDarkAurora- Aw, well I just appreciate you take the time to read when you can. Thank you! I hope you love the update and thank you for the review :) **


	12. Chapter 12

Robin swipes the card through the reader and then presses the code into the system. She isn't on duty to work tonight but she has full access to the systems. Andre is busy with an intern that owed Robin a favor. Once the door beeps, Robin enters the lap and switches on the closest computer. It takes a few minutes before she has the category system up.

This time she types Elise Donaghue and hits search.

**0 results. **

"_Dammit!" _Robin curses and slams her hand down on the desk. She thought she was so close. Okay, maybe it was a long shot. Everyone had a doppelganger and maybe Elizabeth's just happened to be a Crawford graduate. Working for GAIA had taught her that stranger things had happened. Her mind however, refused to accept that. Did doppelgangers look that much a like? And how did that explain Elizabeth shroud of mystery? No, there were too many coincidences for this not to mean anything.

Unless…she was searching the wrong thing. Robin bit her lip. It was a long shot, but everything about this woman seemed to be. She changed the search bar to 'ability' and then typed in the only power that could explain a near 90-year age gap. A power so rare she had only heard rumors of people who have held it.

**1 result**

With a hitched breath, Robin looked for a link but found it wasn't there—the record wasn't entered into the computer. It's in a file locked on the other side of the building. Robin writes down the S.S.I.D.N. number and quickly gets up. The entire relevant paperwork system had been filed on the computer in the 1980's . There was only two reasons they wouldn't be filed on the computer.

Either the person had their powers extracted before hand and there for were no longer super human, or they had died without leaving any children. Either way, Robin was going to find out.

()()()()()()()

Kurt is standing across from Blaine. A circle forming around them as everyone waits for them to start. Blaine is on the other side, keeping his eye trained on Kurt. Probably allowing Kurt to make the first attack (ever the gentleman). The problem was Kurt couldn't make himself throw anything at Blaine. The idea of hurting Blaine was torture to him and wasn't that why he left McKinley in the first place.

People around him were getting impatient. "Come Hummel! Show us some action!"

"Let's go!"

Blaine gave Kurt a reassuring smile. Kurt sighed. Okay, he could do this. He decided to start light—he lifted a discard pile of wood and motioned it over. He earned a few impressed glances from the crowd but nothing amazing. By the time he actually threw the stack at Blaine, the dapper young man had more than enough warning but he refused to act as the wood flew towards him. Kurt gasped when the wood was ten feet away.

Then the most amazing thing happened. Blaine's eyes started to glow. Not just glow—they were a bright yellow. It was like staring into the sun without the fear of burning your eyes. The fire burst into flames and dropped to ash at Blaine's feet. The younger man's laugh was the only thing to snap Kurt out of his daze.

Blaine pushed his hand out and fire erupted. Kurt squeaked and ducked out of the way. Blaine's laughter grew as his firepower retracted. "Come on Kurt. Hit me or something." Kurt managed to push himself up. He really didn't want to do this anymore. That was until Blaine said, no doubt to coax him into fighting. "Don't tell me your going to coward on this too."

And that was really all it took. Kurt growled and pushed forward. Blaine wasn't expecting it as he was throw back into the wall. Kurt was worried for only a split second. Blaine decided to keep at it. "So that's all it took…calling it like I see it."

Kurt brings him back in an attempt to throw him against the other wall—and holy crap, when could he do that? It didn't matter. Blaine grasped his arm before he could make it all the way and his skin started to burn. It wasn't enough to cause permanent damage (Kurt would have healed anyway and Blaine knew that) but it was enough for Kurt to be distracted. Blaine jumped back to his feet and pulled Kurt against him. A ring of fire developed around them.

"Learn anything yet?" Blaine chuckled in his ear. Kurt smiled.

"I learned that you can be an asshole."

"Took you that long to figure out?" Blaine whispered. Kurt closed his eyes and rushed towards the pain. This power only seemed to work if he let himself go in emotion. Sure enough, his arm went through Blaine's hand and he was free. Kurt gave himself plenty of distance before he thought of something.

Well, tonight was full of risks it seemed.

Kurt started stepping back. Then he turned and made a full run towards the wall. He closed his eyes as Blaine shouted. "Kurt! Wait! It's too risky don't!"

It was hot but Kurt felt the fire work into his body like wind against his skin. He had known he could go invisible. Knew he could go through walls. He didn't know about things like fire. But on the other side, he became solid again and not a single burn was on his body.

He hadn't understood fight club before. Now he knew. It was a rush. A sense of empowerment he didn't think was possible. It didn't matter if he didn't know who he was or where he came from or even where he was going now. All that matter was that he wasn't hiding and he wasn't keeping control. He was Kurt Hummel in his purest form. And he loved it.

The ring of fire extinguished as Blaine's eyes widened at him. Everyone else seemed equally shocked. Kurt loved surprising people and this instance was simply awesome. Kurt gave him a look like 'throw anything at me and I'll take it'. Blaine smiled back_. Fine._

Kurt's only warning was the glowing of Blaine's eyes and the snap of wood. Above him, Blaine had managed to use his powers to unweld part of the ceiling above Kurt. Burning metal was coming down on him and Kurt's breath hitched. He hadn't prepared for that. Blaine realized he might have gone too far at the last minute. "Fuck! Kurt!"

Kurt's instincts spoke from him. Without really knowing why, he reached up. A black orb began to form between his hands. Almost everyone emitted a gasp or noise of some kind as it grew. The metal bounced back from the orb and across the room, as it got bigger.

Temperature dropped. Kurt had this overwhelming sense of something. It was like dread only it didn't hit deep in his stomach and swirl there. It filled his entire body and captured him.

He smelled mildew and copper. Could feel something touch his shoulder just before a pain he hadn't felt in so long—a pain he wished he would never have to endure again—filled his entire body.

"_Kurt! Oh my god, Kurt!"_

"Kurt!"

Then it broke. The orb retracted and so did all the terrible feelings. Kurt fell to his knees and gasped as the pain released him. The smell faded last but he still felt the urge to vomit from it. After a few minutes, Kurt looked up and realized everyone had a similar, almost horrified look on their faces. Had everyone experienced what he had?

"Damn…" Jeff was the first one to speak. He then turned to Blaine. "I think he won."

Kurt saw how pale Blaine was turning and knew he felt it. Kurt didn't stand, but wrapped his arms around his knees.

If everyone had felt that….had anyone heard his mother screaming at him?"

()()()()()()()

Robin located the file within 15 minutes or arriving to the barely used room of cabinets. She pulled the file out of its drawer and located it to the dusty table and old style lamp. She flicked it on and sat down opening the file.

"Oh my god…" Robin breathed. The file had belonged to none other than Elsa Krief—the founder of GAIA itself. The picture attached did not resemble a woman born in early 1800's. The picture of a redheaded beautiful woman was dated around 1984. And by that photo was a stamp reading 'disempowered'.

_Name: Elsa Anne Smith Krief_

_D.O.B.: September 13__th__, 1809 (175 years at the time of disempowerment) _

_Sex: Female_

_S.S.I.D.N.: #111211_

_Mother: Unlisted _

_Father: Unlisted _

_Ability: Immortality_

_Other Aliases: _

_Elise Smith_

_Anne Keefe_

_Isla Morgan-Donaghue _

_Elise Donaghue _

_Anne Elizabeth Morgan_

_Elizabeth Keefe (last known alias) _

_Reason for disempowerment: Personal choice. No longer saw benefit of power. _

Robin'sfingers traced over a black line marked towards the bottom of the page. The mark was only given in one situation. It was made when a superhuman had killed before. The only reason Blaine didn't have a mark on his record was that Robin had used her resources to cover the death. Usually, a black mark lead to either disempowerment or a death sentence, but given the reason of Elsa's or Elise, or Elizabeth or whoever she was—disempowerment, it seemed like GAIA knew about it and just didn't care. Either that or she had been so powerful that no one dared to challenge her.

Clearly, she hadn't been disempowered entirely. If that were the case, then Kurt wouldn't have any abilities. Although Robin wasn't sure how Kurt got his powers from someone who was suppose to be immortal.

If Blaine were here. He would have suggested that Kurt's powers could have come from an even farther line. _"Like mine."_ She could hear him say. And then the guilt would come up again and her already overwhelmed mind might give in and say something stupid or do something like…

"Robin." Robin gasped and turned around. Andre was standing at the doorway. Fuck. The intern gave out on her. Her anger is only subdued by the fact that Andre doesn't seem upset. In fact, it's the first time he's called her by her first name since…

No, no! That can't come up right now. "Andre, what-what are you doing here?"

"I think I should be asking that since you're the one here without access. I could have you fired." Andre pointed out, creeping steadily closer.

Robin closed the file and grasped it into her hand. Part of her wanted to run. Another part couldn't look away from this man. Couldn't ignore that despite their petty feud, she still cared and always would. Robin still tries to sound strong. "You say often enough. You should do it now and get it over with."

Andre laughs a humorless laugh. "I wouldn't do that to you. After everything you've put me through, I still love—"

"Did you love Maribel too? Or Anika? Don't say it because I won't say it back. I'm still in love with Floyd."

"And what does that pathetic low life have that makes you love him?" Andre said almost too amused. It's starting to get borderline mean. Andre was always angry that Robin had picked Floyd, a human no less, over him.

"Well for starters, he's around for both his kids. Are you even talking to Tatiana right now? In a week's time, I'll have seen one more of Santana's glee competitions than you have." Robin shoves the file in her purse and decides to make a break before it goes too far. "Goodnight Andre."

But apparently, it's already gone too far. "From what I hear, Floyd can't even stand to be around his youngest son… I can't imagine what'd he act like if he knew the truth."

Robin freezes. "I think you drank too much tonight…You're talking crazy."

"Oh right, all it takes is a little empathy to nearly burn down an entire school." Andre smirks and starts walking towards Robin again. She can hardly dare to move in her shock. "It's cute how clever you thought you were. Putting up illusions and mirrors and hoping no one would catch up to your little act. All the while, your son is running wild because you allowed a human to raise…"

Andre is cut-off as Robin wraps both her hands into his shirt and pulls him forward. "His _father_ and I raised him and we did the best we could. Blaine is a wonderful boy full of potential and it will be a cold day in hell before I allow you to poison him. Do you understand?"

He grasps onto her wrists and she screams. Robin pulls her hands away as quick as she can and backs up. The smile on Andre's face finally falters. "Don't you ever threaten me like you're better, Robin. We both know you're not and it's only a matter of time before your fucking idiot of a husband sees it too."

Andre turns around and slams the door so hard the lamp light flickers. Robin wills herself on to cry as she grasps her purse to make sure the file is inside. Once she's sure, she reaches out to shut off the lamplight. Robin hisses at the burn marks left on her wrist just before darkness prevails.

()()()()()()()

"Hey guys, out of the car." Blaine declares. Jeff and Nick give Blaine a look after they pull up to Dalton. Kurt's tensing in the passenger seat. Afraid that Blaine will talk about the end of the fight.

"Oh come on, Blaine. I want the inside scoop." Jeff confirms. Blaine shoots him a look, which makes the blonde sigh and reach for Nick's hand. "Fine, come on Nick. Daddy's being uncool again. Fricken A stuff you did tonight Kurt. You'll definitely be the talk around the water cooler tomorrow." The two men in the back exit the car and slam the door shut. Kurt leans back in his seat.

"I hope not." He feels Blaine reach for his hand and give it a gentle squeeze. Kurt closes his eyes and squeezes back. "Blaine, what did you feel?"

Blaine tilts his head. "What do you mean?"

"When…you know…the thing at the end happened. I swear that's never happened to me before and it was…." Kurt didn't finish the thought but just shivered. "Did you feel anything?"

"Um well….I felt, I don't know, it's hard to explain. Awesome I guess."

Kurt opens his eyes and turns them to look at Blaine. He can't sense a bit of deceit in them. "You liked it?"

Blaine shook his head quickly. "No, I wouldn't say I _liked_ it. It was just… it's was like going to an art museum when they have the mummies out or listening to a phone recording of someone who's gone. It's not happy, and its kind of melancholy, but it was like I was in the presence of something incredible. Something bigger than I could ever understand."

"Oh…" And Kurt only wishes that was the extent of it. His mother's voice is still in his head. He hadn't realized how much he had forgotten until it hit him. Now he was stuck between never wanting to let it go and wanting it erased from his memory.

"Hey Kurt…" Kurt barely snaps back before Blaine's kissing him. His lips are hot; actually, his entire body is radiating heat. Not the warm feeling from before, but a strong heat that's almost too much but not enough.

The rush from the fight is back and he can't help himself. Kurt grasps the side of Blaine's face and licks at his lip again. Unlike before when they stopped, Blaine opens his mouth and let's Kurt thrust his tongue inside. Blaine moans quietly and holds onto Kurt's forearms as Kurt's tongue flicks against the roof of his mouth. Blaine makes a 'humph' noise and Kurt pulls away. "What's wrong?"

Blaine gently trails his hands over where he burned Kurt earlier. The newly healed skin is sensitive and it causes Kurt to whimper. Blaine makes a sharp inhale of breath. "I didn't hurt you earlier?" He asks in a low voice. Kurt shakes his head. "Good." This time, Blaine licks Kurt's lips in order to gain entrance. When he does, Blaine maneuvers Kurt forward to deepen the kiss so he can further explore Kurt's mouth. Blaine's hands like the idea of exploring and start trailing down Kurt's chest and his sides. Kurt giggles at every tickle, and gasps contently at every sensitive spot.

Kurt only snaps back into reality when he feels heavy warmth set against his ass. Blaine's hands are grabbing, and yeah, it feels good, but it also feels weird. Kurt pulls from the kiss. "Blaine, wait…"

Blaine opens his eyes, dizzy for a moment before he realizes what he's doing. "Oh shit, sorry!" Blaine pulls his hands away while Kurt goes back into his seat. "I seriously didn't know what I was doing."

"It's…fine…neither did I. It's just, I'd like to be officially dating before I let you grope. I'd hate to start out my time here as the school slut." Blaine laughs and gives Kurt an adoring look.

"Well, I'd hate to end our courtship with me grabbing your ass so…Hardly gentleman like."

"Honestly Blaine…I'm starting to doubt that you're a gentleman at all."

**And tada! Chapter 12! So much fit in. So much to write, but I think I managed to get everything in. Lots of drama too just for good measure. At least I seem to be over my little writing funk. **

**And as usual, a big thank you to everyone who reviewed, alerted, or favorited the story! Or just plain read it! Certainly helps me get over these little funks so the love is appreciated.**

**Khrystaline: Thank you very much! Lol, I had considered writing like that, but I can never wait to post a story I like. Of course, that's now lead to me having to balance three stories (not one of my brighter ideas). Hope you like the update!**

**Lar of Luyeia: I've always maintained that I'm a cruel person :) But at least I gave a lot of info this chapter, even if there's still a lot I didn't. Thanks for the review!**

**miss jayne76: Aw, thank you for the fabulous review as always :) Yes I've been quite busy in the Fortress of Doom, but I managed to get up an update. Not quite 50,000 words but you know…being evil takes up a lot of time. Hope you like the update though! **

**ToniBalogna978- Ooo, I like superKlaine! Well, after seeing this chapter, you'll have to let me know the status of your theory. The good news is at this point, it's pretty much set in stone. The bad news is, I still somehow seem to be changing how go down. In any case, I hope you like the update and thanks for the review!**

**Yesiamstragegtoverit: Kurt gets to learn a bit more about his powers :) Poor kid hardly knows what he's capable of but it is a good thing he can heal himself. Hope you enjoyed the Klaine fight. Thanks for the review!**

**Ittlebitz: Lol, well, lucky for you, you won't have to choose! Hope you enjoy it and thank you for the review! (by the way, aren't they kind of breaking the rules of fight club? They seem to talk about it about it a lot, lol) **

**Canes190: Aw, thank you very much! I hope it continues to please :) **


	13. Chapter 13

Robin could hardly focus on the road. She tried calling Blaine but forget he had called her this morning to tell him his phone had broken. Hers almost broke as she threw it across the seat and against the car door.

_Stupid. Stupid. Stupid_. How could she be so stupid? Of course Andre would have figured it out at some point. Maybe he had always known (if one did the math, it should have at least aroused suspicion) and had taken the out she gave to him. Really, everyone won in that aspect…Andre didn't have to deal with another fiasco, she got Floyd, and they got Blaine out of the deal. But tonight, Andre had proven that not only had Blaine been on his mind—but that maybe deep in his subconscious he wanted everyone to know the truth.

And that couldn't happen. God, how many times had she wished she could say it? How long had she worn the same listless smile, gone to the job she had come to hate, and lived as the person she couldn't look in the mirror? The only thing that kept her from doing it—because it sure as hell wasn't her or Andre's pride—had been that if the truth came out, her little shred of family that was barely holding on would be destroyed. Floyd would leave forever, Cooper would be disgusted, and Blaine….poor Blaine who had done nothing but be born, would have his life destroyed for a second time.

All because of her stupidity.

()()()()()()()

_**Robin Cooper had met Floyd Anderson at college. She was a sociology major, hoping to use her degree to help find a way to better integrate humans and superhumans together. Despite this, Floyd, a pre-law student, had been the first human to ever catch her eye. They had one class together but those for three days a week that entire semester. Floyd and Robin would strike conversation out of nowhere—whether it was about the whether that day or the intricacies of human behavior. By the end of the semesters, they had been going out for coffee dates without even knowing it.**_

_**They dated for almost full year before Robin even considered telling Floyd the truth. The push had actually been at their one-year anniversary dinner when Floyd asked her to share an eternity with him in exchange for a small diamond ring. She accepted and filed with GAIA the next day During that day, she also saw a s secretary job was open (she had graduate that year and finding a job doing what she wanted with a sociology degree had proven more difficult than she imagined). It scared her because if Floyd was rejected, she couldn't say that she wouldn't disempower herself to be with him. Her friends laughed at her for saying such a thing but as cliché as it sounded, she would have died for that man—certainly she could give up her powers for him. Lucky for her, the papers came through and she was allowed to tell him the truth. Her decision was confirmed right because while Floyd had been shocked, he had still wanted to get married. He spent countless nights studying with her to make sure the paperwork would pass and they could be together. It paid off because 6 months, everything was finalized and the two were married. Everything seemed perfect—Floyd was almost ready to take the bar exam, Robin was climbing the ranks through GAIA, and two years after they were married, she gave birth to their son Cooper Floyd Anderson.**_

_**It was hard to say when exactly things started to get rough—when Floyd passed the par exam, got his first job as a lawyer, and spent less time at home, or when the two had decided to rekindle the romance by having another child. Cooper was starting school by this point and Robin, who had advanced high enough to be confident a second child wouldn't slow her down too much, didn't want him to be a only child like she had been growing up. So they started trying to have a baby. When a year passed, and they still had no child, they tried taking vacations focused solely on getting Robin pregnant. Another year passed, and they finally went to see a fertility expert who had no real answers. Neither parent was to blame—it was a meant to be situation. **_

_**4 years passed and they had nothing to show for it. They were frustrated—with both themselves and each other. So while they were still 'trying' Robin and Floyd buried themselves in work and in Cooper, but never sought the comfort of each other. It wasn't exactly trying if you sometimes went a whole week without even seeing your partner. **_

_**Robin however, saw her boss Andre all the time. It was an entirely different feeling with him, one she wasn't sure she liked. While Floyd use to spark this wonderful feeling of warmth and belonging, Andre made her feel unsure, uncertain, but with it came this surging attraction she was sure she never felt before. But that was probably because he was good looking. He had a reputation of flirting with women around the office so she didn't think anything of it when he started flirting with her. Robin deflected him "I have a husband." Andre laughed in a way that suggested he had been teasing all along. "I have a wife." And it was true—Robin would see Anika Moretta at the office and their daughter (who was about Cooper's age) Tatiana Moretta too. **_

_**When Maribel Lopez, Head of Integration, became pregnant. Robin was green with envy and had gone home that day feeling horrid. Maribel was nearly 5 years older than her, had no husband, and had claimed over and over she was never having children. Robin couldn't understand why she could get pregnant, but Robin couldn't. It was enough to spark a fight with Floyd. The fight got out of control and Floyd had venomously accused Robin of being the reason they couldn't have more children. She had left that night and ran to the safety of her office. Andre had happened to be there. He lamented his problems to her (mainly his impending divorce and the fact that due to rumors he had no choice but to fire Maribel, or so he had said) and offered her Maribel's job. Robin felt vengeful and said yes. They drank wine to celebrate, she went back to his hotel room because of said wine, and one thing led to another. And the next morning, she left in shame.**_

_**Her intentions had started good, or as good as they could be, she planned to tell Floyd but when she returned he had profusely apologized to her. He held her like he use to and told her they shouldn't try anymore—as long as he had her and Cooper, he'd be happy. His words were so sincere and she wanted this so badly, that she agreed and perhaps told herself that what happened with Andre had been a dream.**_

_**And that's what it felt like every time it happened—like she was living in a different world than the one she belonged in. It didn't happen so often. But every now and then, Robin was too stressed about the underlying issues in her marriage that weren't resolved that she found an escape in this different world. There, she was Andre's lover and nothing else. In the real world, she was a cheater and a liar, but she was also Floyd's. But the affection she had for Andre faded when Maribel gave birth to her daughter, Santana and Andre was court ordered to do through a paternity test. He didn't get to the test, he claimed Santana as his own. Robin realized that her envy, her dislike of Maribel, the wicked witch picture Andre had painted of her wasn't true. He had used her and fully intended to leave her—and he was taking advantage of Robin's marital problems to do the same to her. She had fallen for the oldest trick in the book and her illusion of this dream world was destroyed. Andre was nothing now. Floyd was still there. **_

_**But something (fate, karma, whatever you call it) decided to punish her infidelity. After a little over 9 years of trying and failing, Robin got pregnant. She didn't know who the father was. The chances were in Floyd's favor as she slept with much more than Andre. She and Floyd hadn't been using protection since they had been trying to have another child and by the time she got to Andre, she didn't believe she could get pregnant and was too emotional to care. Again, she had intended to tell the truth. She didn't give a damn if Andre would lose his job amidst another paternity scandal. She didn't care if people would try to use her or would regard her as a whore. She did care that'd she lose Floyd and possibly Cooper in the mess—but her guilt ruled her mind and told her she never deserved them to begin with. **_

_**Two things happened to stop her. One was when she told Floyd she was pregnant (fully intending to follow up with 'there's a chance it may not be yours') but Floyd was too overjoyed at her pregnancy to let her continue. That joy broke her heart but it would be nothing compared to pain he would feel if he knew this child they had been trying for may not be his. When she did tell Andre she was pregnant, it was the opposite response. He was tense as a calculating gaze overcame him—a look he only wore when he was thinking of ways to deal with a problem. The decision was made—Floyd wanted this baby, Andre wanted to get rid of it, Robin loved Floyd, she now despised Andre, this baby needed a father, and Andre hadn't even visited Santana or Tatiana since the mess began. The choice was clear, and if the punishment to keep Floyd and her unborn child happy was to live with this guilt, so be it. **_

"_**Don't worry; it's not yours." Robin assured. **_

"_**How can you be sure?"**_

"_**The due date is March. The times wouldn't match up. It's not yours." She had lied, pushing the date a month back so it would fit the time they had stopped seeing each other. That was good enough for Andre and for her too. She got to keep her job (whether Andre was rewarding her for not saying anything or because he didn't want to risk another scandal, she wasn't sure) and her and Floyd had seemed to fall in love again. Albeit, the love had a undertone of brokenness that would never truly be fixed, but Robin had grown and learned to settle with that. And on February 5**__**th**__**, Blaine Robert Anderson was born. He was perfect and beautiful, and by the grace of god, looked so much like Robin that it was impossible to really say who his father was. So maybe Robin had convinced herself that Blaine was Floyd's. He was a happy, giggling child. A singer before he could master words, a dancer on wobbly feet, and the perfect child in every way. Over his childhood, she had even learned not to be so guilty.**_

_**But when she came home that one day when Blaine was 12 and Cooper had ratted him out for burning a hole through his bed. Her worst fears became a reality. Blaine was a pyrokinetic. When Blaine asked about it, she told him that she believed her grandma had an element related power, but she only knew one pyrokinetic and he was the head of Gaia. **_

_**There wasn't a question about it anymore. Andre was Blaine's father. But Blaine needed stability in life now more than ever, especially after the incident at the Sadie Hawkins dance. Not only that, but after Blaine came out, his relationship with Floyd was compromised greatly. The truth—it could be enough to make Blaine turn away from Floyd all together, and while Floyd wasn't completely accepting of Blaine being gay, she knew he still loved him and was trying to make in work. But suddenly, he seemed to turn from superhumans all together because so much happened at once. Blaine distanced himself from his father, Cooper distanced himself from the family after Chelsea was denied, and Robin distanced herself from everything because the guilt had returned tenfold. **_

_**But nothing had changed really. She still couldn't tell the truth to anyone. It wasn't about saving her own ass or saving her once again failing marriage. It wasn't even so much about keeping Andre away from them. It was about Blaine. Blaine's life had been built on this horrible, terrible, lie and if he found that out—then Blaine could fall over the edge. Robin couldn't do that to him. She'd live with this pain for a thousand years if it meant to keeping Blaine stable and away from harm. So when she transferred his information from the 'human database' to the 'superhuman' database, she listed his ability as empathy. **_

_**So her life became a lie—and it was the same for everyone around her.**_

()()()()()()()

"_Hey soul sister. Ain't that mister, mister on the radio, stereo…The way you move ain't fair, you know. Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single thing you do…Tonight._" Blaine's voice rounded with the other Warblers in a chorus of 'Heys'. Robin saw Kurt in the front row moving a bit stiffly with the other Warblers. She waited patiently until the last '_Tonight"_ before she started clapping.

"Mrs. Anderson!" Wes nervously glanced around. "What a surprise…Is it already time for an inspection?" Robin laughed at Wes's nervous demeanor and shook her head.

"Ease up Wes, I just came to deliver Blaine's new phone to him and decided to catch your performance. Very nice I might add."

"Yes well, we'll need to be top notch if we have any hope beating Kurt's old school." Kurt smiled weakly at the mention of the New Directions. That weekend had been his first visit home since he moved to Dalton and he had a packed schedule. When he wasn't shopping with Mercedes and Rachel or spending time with Finn (oddly enough, he had happen to plan his visit during a first-class Finchel argument so he had the pleasure of hearing both sides), he was spending time with his father, thinking more and more about how much he wanted his father to know everything. As much fun as he had there and much as he was learning about himself, his heart broke when Finn dropped him back off at Dalton.

Blaine brought a hand around his shoulder and laughed. "No time like the present for a break., right.?" Several of the Warblers made cheers at the statement. Wes glared at them and sighed.

"Fine, but be back here in 2 hours. Right on the dot! We still have to practice _Uptown Girl!_"

Blaine and Kurt came down from the stage and made their way over to Robin. She extended the phone towards Blaine but pulled it back before he could grab it. "If this phone is broken in anyway before your contract is up Blaine Robert, you can talk through a soup can and string for the rest of your high school career. Is that understood?"

Blaine rolled his eyes and grabbed the phone. "Yes Mother. Thank you Mother."

She then turned to Kurt and gave him a smile. "And Kurt, how are you adjusting to things here at Dalton?"

Kurt offered a polite smile. "Very well. Everyone's been nice and welcoming. My back is definitely appreciating the change…how did things go with Karofsky?"

"His memory was manipulated. He doesn't remember anything…but I do have a problem regarding your friends but I need to talk to you about a few things." Robin explained. Blaine nodded.

"Well, we do it in the commons area or…"

"Actually sweetie, this is only for Kurt. Whether he chooses to include you or not is his choice, but right now, it's just for his ears." Blaine stiffened when Robin told him that, but Robin felt like having Blaine there would just overwhelm Kurt. The news she was going to share was already going to be fairly overwhelming.

She noticed Kurt reach for Blaine's hand and gave it a squeeze. "I'll be fine. I'll meet up with you after."

Blaine smiled reassuringly and let Kurt go, but Robin was less than pleased with this. She had warned Blaine against getting too close with Kurt but it was clear they were becoming very affectionate. Although… Blaine had certainly taken that better when Kurt was there than he would have if she had just told him. She had been afraid that Kurt would rile Blaine up and make him emotional, but it seemed like it was the opposite effect.

Kurt brought out calmness in Blaine.

()()()()()()()

"That's my mom…" Kurt whispered peering at the file Robin had just opened. The two of them were sitting at a table placed near the window in the Warbler's common area. Robin maneuvered through her cell phone and brought up the picture she had snapped at Crawford.

"This is her too."

Kurt peered at the picture and his eyes widened. "Where did you get this? It looks old…almost…"

"It was taken in 1924 Kurt, and that one around 1984. I've found a few more pictures online…One during a parade that took place 1957, another at a protest 1968. " She spread the pictures she had printed online as she spoke about them. "The earliest one…1891." The picture was blurry from grain and obsolete quality but Kurt knew it was her. He didn't believe it but he knew it. "I also found Elsa Krief in the Ellis Island system. She immigrated to America in 1846 from Ireland and started GAIA nearly 15 years later. From what I understand, she lived as Elsa through there but changed her name in the human world to keep suspicion from rising. She's lived as Elise Smith, Anne Keefe, Isla Donaghue…."

"Stop, just stop for a minute, please." Kurt ran a free hand through his hair or maybe more over it to flatten it down. He took a deep breath and released it. "Are you telling me that my mother has been alive since the 1800's? Wouldn't she be like dead or at least really old?" The sarcastic comment made Robin chuckle.

"Your mother was an Immortal, honey. It's a rare ability but I've heard of it happening. I just wasn't sure if it was real or not."

"Clearly it is…. Sorry. Sarcasm is my coping mechanism." Kurt explained picking up the picture of his mother at the parade. Her hair was up in a similar fashion that she had worn it in the pictures of her wedding with her father. "I guess that explains where my powers came from…did she die because she gave up her powers?" It made sense in his head. She gave up her powers to be with her father, and died as a result. It would have sounded so beautiful and romantic in his head if he weren't so confused now. It sounded like his mother.

Robin bit her lip. "The thing is Kurt usually if someone is disempowered, they become human in every sense. Their children wouldn't inherit powers. Considering who your mother was and her accomplishments…. I don't think she was fully disempowered."

Kurt stared at Robin. "But she died…" This time there wasn't a hint of sarcasm to his voice.

"I don't know what to tell you, Kurt. We've figured a lot out with the file but there's a lot of stuff we still don't know and to be honest, we may not find everything…" Kurt's eyes began to water but he'd damned if he was going to shed another tear over this. Robin closed the file, pushing it towards Kurt. When he looked at her, he saw that she…understood? _How could she possibly understand_? "It's scary isn't it? You sort of feel like you don't know who you are anymore."

"I don't know if I ever knew." Kurt confessed, looking away from Robin's eyes again. "I use to wonder if losing her—my mom, would have been easier if I had been a baby. Maybe if I didn't have the memories or her teaching me to cook or reading to me when it was time for bed…if I didn't know every single word to the song she'd sing to me when it was time for bed… that maybe it wouldn't hurt so much. In the end I was glad I had those memories to hold on to. Now it feels like…."

Kurt shook his head and leaned forward. His entire body fighting the urge to break down. "Now it's like that person wasn't my mom. Even if it was, how much did those memories really mean to her? She was almost 200 years old…I was only there for 8 years of that. What if I was just another name for her?"

Robin does something Kurt never imagined her doing for him when they first met. She takes his hand into hers. Kurt makes himself look into Robin's soulful eyes. "Kurt, speaking from a mother's point of view, you were her life. Maybe she only had you for 8 years but a mother's love for her child? It never lessens or fades away. It starts strong and only grows over time. Maybe she kept things from you…maybe she kept them from your father, but I can promise you it was never intended to hurt you. For all you know, she was trying to keep you safe."

Kurt forced a small smile. "I know…I just wish I was learning this from her and not my friend's mom and some old photos."

He pulled his hand away and grasped the file. His finger rubbed up against the edge of the file. Contrary to his words, he was more at peace. Sure, he wasn't exactly okay with knowing that his mother had been a 200-year immortal, but the eeriness that came with that was worth having some of the confusion lifted. He'd rather known than continue wondering. "So, Blaine is still just your friend?"

Kurt thought back to Thursday night Fight Club. "I don't know." He answered honestly. "I suppose you're going to tell me it's a bad idea to get involved right now?"

"Oh, Blaine has heard that speech so many times that if you want to hear it, you should just ask him." Robin teased. In a more serious tone, she added. "I will admit, it's not really what I think is in your best interest or Blaine's right now, but you do have an interesting effect on Blaine." Kurt raised an eyebrow, which made Robin sigh. "Blaine has always been wound up. Nice to a fault, accepting of most people but…he gets angry and defensive so easily. He's not like that around you—he's calm and he has more control and I'm not sure why. I just can't really argue with those results…And I do like you Kurt."

"You do? Since when?" Kurt joked. Robin playfully tapped his shoulder and laughed.

"Since I realized it takes one tough kid to deal with all this crap. If it were me I would have crawled into a hole and never came out. But you—you're moving forward and trying to deal with it. I respect that."

Kurt couldn't help but be a little proud that he had won over Blaine's mother (and they weren't even dating!). Now if only he could win over Blaine's dad, though that didn't seem likely.

But one question still plagued him. Especially considering all the things his mother never told him—and honestly, probably his father. "Mrs. Anderson…what do I need to do so I can tell my father about me?"

Robin scratched the side of her face. "Well you're still not technically a part of the GAIA system, but at least we have something now that we know who your mother is…I'm sure it can only help that she was the founder of GAIA...I think what we have to do is put your mother into the system and then you, and then we can start the process of letting your father into the circle. The good news is you'll have a bit more leverage. Parents are more likely to be accepted into the system than romantic partners but it might take longer since as far as GAIA's concerned right now, you don't exist."

Kurt grew excited. So there was a chance his father could know about him? That would certainly make things easier around home. Kurt was just sick of having to keep things from his father. After so long, it was time to be honest. "Well, I've always been good at being weird."

**And surprise! Another update! Honestly, I hadn't intended to get this all written out today (wasn't a fast chapter either. I think it might be one of the longest ones I've written so far for this story) but there you have it. Sorry for all the focus on Robin but I figured it wasn't any use pretending Andre wasn't Blaine's father, lol so I felt it needed a bit of back story.**

**And of course, thank you to my wonderful readers for all the reviews, alerts, and favorites :) **

**ToniBalogna978- Thank you! Sorry that your theory didn't hold up…it's always fun to have one though (and like I said, you might have been right at some point and I decided to change directions, I've done that a lot this story). Fight club is a lot of fun to write so I think it's safe to say there will be more. Thanks for the review! Hope you like the update!**

**DemitriMP- Thanks for the review! I imagine him looking like Antonio Banderas if that's any indication but yes he is jerk with too many kids. He's like a seedy politician, lol. Anderson's seem like they're always good for drama :). I did like the idea of Santana and Blaine being siblings (I thought it and I'm like 'Okay, how can I make it happen'). Hope you like the update!**

**Yesiamstragegetoverit- Good call :) Lol, I guess Kurt is, isn't he? He has the crown and everything after all. Aw, thanks ! Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Thanks for the review. **

**radcliffe bass- Thank you very much! Sorry you were tired for work though. And I hope you're still a happy camper with all the secrets coming out. Lol, a lot of people seem to like the idea of Blaine and Santana being siblings. I think it would be fun since Blaine is so dapper, and Santana…isn't, lol. Thanks for the review! Hope you like the update! **

**miss jayne76- Yes, it's quite the conundrum. Something that must remain a mystery for now :) As well as who she killed. Sorry I fell short on my quota (I hope the extra 1000 this chapter makes up for it!). I love the idea that I have a Fortress of doom, even if it's only for writing (though it also has a slushy machine). Hope you like this chapter! Thanks for the review!**

**Canes190- Thank you very much! Hope you enjoy the update :)**

**AllWasWellatPigfarts- Ugh, I knew I should have checked! Thank you for correcting me :) It's a tricky word. The real spelling is as fun to read, as it is to say though. Thank you! Don't worry, Santana will be showing up more soon- might not be for a few chapters though. Hope you like the new chapter! Thanks for the review!**

**Ittlebitz- Aw, thank you! I was starting to get worried there was to much going on, but glad to see it's not the case. I figured Fight Club should be an experience were Kurt learns about himself so I'm glad you liked that too. Lol, yes, Kurt is the prince of GAIA it would seem (again, has the crown and all) but I don't know if GAIA will see it that way. In any case, thanks for the review! Hope you like the new update!**

**MegumiDarkAurora- Aw, just to say again, I'm just grateful you take the time to review when you're on so thank you! Glad you're still enjoying the story. I was worried that people might forget who had what powers, maybe I should make a reminder note next chapter. We're still kind of in the stage where Kurt is figuring out his powers but the whole deal will be revealed…well not soon, but eventually. As for your questions, Dalton isn't a superpower exclusive school but the Warblers are an exclusive group of superhumans, which is why a lot of superhuman teens go to Dalton (same with Crawford and the Cindys). Um, I think part of it based off the movie but I think it's mostly a secret because if any adults found out, they wouldn't approve and GAIA may have something to say about it. Please let me know if you have any other questions :) Hope you like the update! Thanks for the review!**


	14. Chapter 14

It was nearly midnight as Kurt sat in the common area alone. He knew he should be sleeping since tomorrow was sectionals but every time he closed his eyes he saw the visions he had tried so long to suppress. At least, most of them were like that.

Kurt use to have night terrors (the kind where you were screaming and thrashing in your sleep) about the accident that claimed his mother's life. Since she had been on his mind so much lately, it didn't come as a surprise he was having them more frequently. However, a new dream plagued his mind a long with it. This one occurred after Fight Club when he had discovered a new, mysterious power.

In this dream, there wasn't destruction or chaos around him. Actually, the surroundings were never important enough to stick out in his head. The feelings though—the dark overcast of sorrow and dread, the cold clutch of hands around his neck—choking and suffocating him until no air could pass through his throat, he couldn't get them out of his head. The sounds were the strangest part—all he could hear was his mother's screaming. That was the worst part. Over the years, he had forgotten certain things about her. One of those things was her voice. Now Kurt remembered it all too well, but it wasn't associated with warmth or kindness, but rather horror.

These dreams were making him tired. But in a strange way, it felt like his mother was with him again. The past couple years, she had been absent from his life. As he told his dad, he couldn't feel her within him or watching him, and while that was always more of a metaphor for him, when he didn't feel her near, it caused him distress. He felt alone.

He of course wasn't alone anymore. He was surrounded by people like him—people who liked him and almost adored him. People who thought he was strong and powerful and didn't think he was a freak because of it. Kurt had Blaine and the Warblers now.

So why did he still feel so isolated?

"You could get in trouble, you know." Kurt peered up and was surprised to find the boy he met the day he snuck into the Dalton. The one who had been so demeaning to him and protective of Blaine. Kurt hadn't heard him come in—come to think of it; he hadn't even seen him around the school.

"Why don't you mind your own business." Kurt scoffed, in no mood to play nice. The boy laughed.

"I'm just saying, the teachers at Crawford might get worried if they realize you've wondered over here to Dalton."

Kurt tilted his head and smirked. Teeth flashing in the dark of night. "You're so original…how have you not caught Blaine's attention." At the boy's near murderous glare, Kurt realizes he's hit a soft spot. So the hate has reason behind it after all. "That's it isn't? You're jealous of Blaine and I…"

"What's there to be jealous of? You two aren't even together. Maybe he's kissed you, gotten a little physical, but he hasn't taken that extra step has he?"

Kurt blushes. He tries to tell himself it's more complicated than that. Both he and Blaine had agreed it was better to wait. Blaine wasn't weirded out by him or his powers…was he?

Then Kurt replayed the sentence and his eyes narrowed. "How do you know what we've done?" The boy's mouth pulls back into a smile. "Have you been watching us?"

"Oh Kurt…" Kurt's mouth dropped slightly. It ran dry too. He had never told this boy his name. The only people who really knew him at this school were the Warblers but he had never met this boy in his life. "I can see everything. I know you and Blaine much better than you could possibly imagine."

An aura expanded through the room. It was cold. Nearly ice. "Who are you?...What are you?" Kurt asked, trying to stop himself from shivering. The boy's smirk grew as he took several steps back. Then he turned on his heel and ran straight for the closed door.

Kurt gasped as the boy slipped right through it. Nothing else mattered then. Someone had powers like him. He threw himself at the same door, transcending to the other side. The boy was already at the end of the hallway. Laughing as he took off down another corridor. Kurt took off in a run. He wasn't thinking—all he could focus on was looking for that boy. He had so many questions—maybe he had answers. "Wait! Stop!"

He reached the end of the hall and listened. He could hear the laughter fading quickly, but he looked down each corridor and saw nothing. Kurt cursed loudly and pounded his fists against the wall. Adrenaline higher than ever. He found someone like him. Someone who could potentially (despite how unlikely that was) help him. Why would anyone do this? How could so many people have allowed his life to be such mental suffering?

"Kurt?" Kurt looked up. Trent was standing there with a flashlight in his hand. The light sparkled against Kurt's iris. Kurt was disoriented for a second. Blinding light mixing with his watery eyes. "I woke up and you weren't in the room. You know you could get in trouble for being in the corridors after midnight, don't you? I thought Wes went over that."

Once Kurt regained his focus, he turned to fully glance at Trent. "Trent, did you see a boy run past you?"

"No…" Trent drew out. Kurt heaved a heavy sigh and banged his fist against the wall again.

"God damn it, he must have gone the other way!" Kurt could barely care he had cursed. He was frustrated as hell—until he realized… "Trent, there's a boy. He's kind of thin. Narrow features. He has powers like mine and I just…I need to talk to him." Trent is entirely confused by this point and Kurt groans. He reaches out to touch Trent but the other boy takes a big step back. "Please! You have to know who he is—I saw him go through the door! He's been watching Blaine and I and…"

Trent's eyes widened and Kurt felt relief. Finally! Someone could help him. "You can see Sebastian?"

"Sebastian? Is that what his name is?" Kurt asked breathlessly. Trent continued to stare at Kurt. He had never seen Trent so out of it. He was floored. Completely shocked. "Trent please, if you know anything you have to tell me!"

Trent swallowed and nodded. "Okay, but not here…Let's go back to the dorm room."

()()()()()()()

"Do you believe in spirits?" Trent asked after he closed the door to their room. Kurt, exhausted from his adrenaline rush, took a seat on his bed.

"Well, I'm an atheist…" Kurt murmured with uncertainty. Trent smiled gently.

"Okay, so you don't believe in god. What about spirits? You know, ghosts?"

Kurt shrugged. "All things considering, it's not too farfetched." Kurt's heart sank as he realized where this was going. "Are you telling me that Sebastian is a ghost?"

Trent gave him an apologetic look and nodded. "I wasn't sure at first. I thought he was just a dream but then I realized a lot of the boys were dreaming about him. Then I thought maybe he was a student at the school that people placed in their heads but no one ever heard of him or knew who he was. That and….I'd get these feelings around the school. You know—the cold, dark feeling…the same feeling you get in a cemetery or when you're ill? It was the same feelings I got when my mom was still here."

Kurt sucked a breath of air into his mouth. "Your mom? She's…"

"Both my parents are. Please don't ask how." Trent answered with a sad smile. Kurt nodded empathetically. From experience, he knew how troublesome it could be to go into the details of a parent's death. "But for awhile, I sensed her spirit still around. It's like how our energy gives us powers. For humans, after they die their energy is still moving and does so until it runs out…after that, I really don't know what happens…" Trent cleared his throat and got back on track. "Anyway, I felt the same way and I realized Sebastian was a spirit still running his energy. Only thing is—he doesn't let it run out. He keeps it going by jumping into people's dreams. As long as people think about him, he gets the energy and he can still move. It's the awareness that gives him power."

"So…no one can see him outside of a dream?" Kurt asked sounding very confused. Trent shrugged.

"No one but you apparently. Is that the first time you've seen him?" Kurt shook his head. His body gave way and started shaking. There was always a chance. The online sources have always lead Kurt to believe he may be able to see ghosts. He just never had the proof before. To him, they looked like normal every day people. That was almost worse than them being transparent or scary.

"No, I saw him once before. The first day I came here, he mocked me for staring at Blaine. He's very possessive of Blaine." Kurt said softly. Trent nodded like he already knew this.

"I know…That's because it's Blaine he's haunting."

"Why? " Trent shifted uncomfortably. This would lead to an explanation about Blaine, and he wasn't sure how much Blaine had told him about the incident. Then odds were, he'd have to tell Kurt about his powers. He saw the way Kurt was now and realized that the last thing the boy needed was someone to try and protect him or to keep things from him. Trent sat on his own bed.

"Has Blaine told you about what happened at the Sadie Hawkins dance?" Trent asked. Kurt bit his lip at the mention of the tragic event and nodded. "Blaine must really trust you…he doesn't tell many people about it. I only know about it because of my power. Sebastian he….he was Blaine's date."

Kurt felt his entire body stop at the admission. "The one that was killed?" Trent nodded once again. Kurt couldn't believe it. God, poor Blaine. Always having that presence around him. "Why is he haunting Blaine? Blaine didn't kill him. In fact, Blaine killed his murderer."

"I don't know…I don't think it's about making Blaine suffer. I think it's more that he's angry about what happened. He'll never grow old or get to experience all of life and he doesn't want Blaine to move forward from that because, well, he can't. " Trent explained. Kurt trailed his fingertips along his skin. Never before had been so aware of the fact that he was breathing and present. It felt so odd but so vivid too.

"Blaine suffers everyday because of what happened…" Kurt thought out loud. He tilted his head to feel the cool breeze brush along his skin. "But me being here… it upsets Sebastian's hold on him. That's why he hates me so much…Because Blaine is letting go and he's not ready to yet."

The room went silent. Trent knew it wasn't something he was supposed to respond to. It was just the truth. Nothing more, nothing less. Kurt appreciated the moment given to understand. It was not so long ago he felt alone—and maybe he still did, but he felt like at least Trent understood him. That meant more to Kurt than he could possibly ever express.

But then the disappointment set in again. Kurt had believed he had found someone like him. Now he knew that not only was Sebastian not like him; he wasn't even technically a superhuman. The only thing Kurt had learned from the experience was that he could talk to spirits…except he was fairly certain Sebastian was the only one since he never saw his mom or anyone else no one could see. But at least he had some answers. That was all he really wanted in the end.

Trent glanced at the clock. "It's starting to get really late. We should get to sleep or we'll be exhausted for sectionals tomorrow…"

"Yeah." Kurt agreed, folding back his blanket so he could climb under it. "Thanks for telling me, Trent…"

"No problem." Trent said, switching off the lamp light by his bed and climbing under his own covers. It was dangerous to bring it up but Trent was confused so he had to ask. "I'm surprised you didn't ask me what my powers were."

Kurt shrugged. "I figured if you wanted me to know, you would tell me."

Trent seemed unmoved on the outside. On the inside, he was touched. Many of the Warblers had tried to push Trent to reveal his powers. Many people tried to invade the wall he had placed around himself. Kurt instead left it be. Maybe he understood on a level what it was like to hide himself from the world. To be so use to being guarded and alone that it was all he knew.

And ironically, he found company in that.

()()()()()()()

Cooper had made a special trip to come see Blaine perform. Well, not quite. He was set to perform another commercial and he had managed to get a day off filming to see his little brother perform. The auditorium was already filling with proud parents, nervous students, and over-emotional teachers. He looked around for his mother or maybe his little brother.

He found another face instead within the crowd. A face he honestly hadn't expected to see here. It may have been nearly 10 years, but he'd remember the long trenches of black-hair, olive-tone skin, and impossibly large green eyes anywhere. The big difference was instead the Crawford uniform she had worn before, she was wearing a black leather jacket, form-fitting jeans, and tall boots that didn't look exactly comfortable.

In a nutshell, it seemed like a bad idea to say hi. But on a more mischievous level. "Tatiana? Is that you?" Tatiana Moretta looked up and her lipstick smile fell. Cooper almost laughed. The two had known each other on and off since they were children—given that he was the son of Robin Anderson and she was the daughter of Andre Moretta. However, as teens the Crawford girls would often sneak boys into their dorms for wild parties and as fate had it, Cooper had been there. The two might have talked a little too much about their parents and how it sucked they worked for GAIA, and they might have drank a bit too much, and Cooper maybe have ended up sloppily making out with her just before a teacher discovered the party and ran the boys out. Good times at least for him.

"Cooper." She said simply, placing her phone back in her jacket. "I'm surprised to see you here, last I heard you were living in California."

"I am, but I'm still filming the free-credit rating commercials so I decided to take some time off to see my little brother perform. What are you doing here?" Tatiana tried to make an indifferent shrug.

"Trying to get to know my sister I suppose. Santana and I have been talking but we're not exactly B.F.F's yet…Actually, to be perfectly frank, I'm scouting competition for my fiancée."

Cooper's smile dulled ever slightly. It usually happened at the mention of any sort of word like fiancée or marriage. Nonetheless, he teased. "Wow, plotting against your own sister? How evil of you…"

Tatiana finally smiled. "If I remember correctly Cooper, it was the bad girl routine that turned you on." She tilted her head and pointed at him. "Didn't I hear a rumor that you were getting married? To a human, right?"

Now Cooper's smile was completely gone. He glanced down. "No, um…Well yeah I was but it didn't…work out."

"Oh…" Tatiana shook her head. "Oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't know. I just heard things, you know?"

"It's fine." Cooper insisted, even though it clearly wasn't. "I'm surprised your dad hadn't filled you in on that. Apparently, it was the most disgraceful I ever did with my life."

Tatiana rolled her eyes. "Last time I talked to my dad, I told him I wanted him out of my life so no, he didn't fill me in…." Her voice trailed off as she looked behind Cooper. An immediate scowl took over her face. "Wow, speak of the fucking Devil…"

Cooper looked over his shoulder. Sure enough, Andre Moretta was walking into the building. Cooper tilted his head and turned back to face Tatiana. "What is he doing here?"

"Hell if I know, but I'm not sticking around to find out." Tatiana insisted. "Great seeing you Coop, tell your brother I said good luck."

"Same to your sister and your…your boyfriend." Cooper managed to spit out. Tatiana gave him a sympathetic smile before stomping away. Cooper watched after her. After all these years, she was still kind of cute. Well, cute putting it mildly…the girl was a damn fox. Granted, a fox just loaded with daddy-issues but a fox all the same.

He might have been shamelessly appraising her ass when his mom came up. "There you are! I think Blaine just got here with the Warblers…Cooper?"

Cooper shook his head and smiled down at Robin. "Heard you Mom…Blaine and the Pips are here, blah, blah, blah. Hey, do you know why Andre is here?"

"Andre is what?" His mother frantically spun her head enough until her eyes landed on Andre. Her expression was unreadable, but her tone was shaky as she spoke. "Oh, well…I guess he came around and decided to see Santana perform."

Cooper chuckled and laced his arm through hers. "You're not skipping work to come see Blaine, are you?"

Oh, if only it were just that. "Yeah…Let's just hurry inside and maybe he won't see us."

()()()()()()()

"AHHH! Kurt!" Kurt managed to turn around just in time for Rachel to jump into his arms and deliver the largest hug he had ever received.

"Hi Rachel." He muttered, holding her tighter than he ever imagined he would. Then again, he never imagined he'd miss everyone this much. It felt nice to even have Puck come over and hug him. Before he knew it, all of the New Directions were rushing up to either hug or pat Kurt. All of them except… "Where's Santana?"

"Oh, she got upset about something and went to the bathroom. I tried to talk to her but she told me to go away." Brittany said as she rubbed her head on Kurt's shoulder. "I missed you dolphin."

"Hey Kurt, we got our warm up room! We're up first…Oh hi." Blaine said coming up next to Kurt. Kurt sighed but smiled. He was just enjoying seeing everyone again, and now he remembered that they weren't on the same team anymore. Brittany looked up and gasped.

"You're Kurt's boy…How much did he pay for you?" Kurt cleared his throat over the question.

"Um Blaine, this is my old choir group. Everyone, this is Blaine." There were an even amount of smiles and glares—thankfully, Blaine just smiled in that dapper way.

"It's really nice to meet you guys. Good luck today." Blaine said politely before he walked away from the group. Kurt was about to follow Blaine away from the group when Rachel caught him and whispered in his ear.

"Have you kissed him yet?" Kurt blushed to which Rachel squealed. "Are you guys dating?"

"Not yet no." Rachel pouted like this was the worst news ever. "Soon hopefully though….I really have to go."

Rachel didn't let go. "One more thing…I having a big Holiday party next week since my dad's will be away visiting my uncle…"

Kurt raised an eyebrow. "Another Rachel Berry train wreck extravaganza?"

"Oh hush! But yes…." Rachel confirmed. With a light in her eyes. "You should come and bring that beautiful boy along with you."

"I'll bring it up. I can't see any reason why I can't come at least…" Then at the last minute, Kurt leaned in to hug Rachel. "Tell everyone I miss them…And I miss you too."

Rachel smiled sadly. "We all miss you Kurt. We want you to come back…"

"I know. But I can't…"

"We know." Rachel said, pulling away and gently touching his cheek. "Dalton's where you belong now and we're happy you're safe."

With that, Rachel retreated back to the group. Finn was the last person to go back but he gave Kurt a long look before he mouthed 'good luck' and went back. Kurt sighed and gave the group his famous sad wave. Rachel was right, he was safe at Dalton, and right now that was where he needed to be.

But it wasn't where he belonged—he wasn't sure if he knew where exactly that was.

**With that, I end on chapter 14. Sectionals will be continued in the next chapter though :). And with Andre, and all three of his kids under one roof (plus Robin), it should make for some dramatics. And now that the truth about Sebastian is officially revealed, we should be seeing more of him as well. Just as a little extra fact, in my mind Tatiana (Blaine and Santana's half-sister) would look like Mila Kunis. I just always thought if Blaine had a sister, she'd be perfect to play her. Also, I had a bit of fun with the new cover feature on here (which as I've said in my other story, how great is that?) and made a cover for Rising Sun! Yes I know, I'm a goober who gets excited over stupid stuff, but I loved making it.**

**And once again, thank you to all my readers; especially the ones who reviewed, alerted, or favorited this story. You guys are freaking awesome!**

**ToniBalogna978- Hoped you liked it :) And yeah, lol, Kurt's got some pretty amazing blood in him. One reviewer (I believe it was Yesiamstragegetoverit) called him superhero royalty, which has been my favorite phrase regarding him in this story. Hope you enjoy the new chapter and thanks for the review!**

**irishflute- Aw! Thank you very much :) I had to make his mom like him after everything the poor boy's been through. Lol, well, he is powerful but he can't do quite everything…but I think he is the most powerful superhuman in the story. Congratulations on getting a fanfiction account! It's so much fun to have :) Aw! Ours is probably still my favorite story I've written so far but it's kind of my baby story (no pun intended). I'm glad you liked that one though! Thank you for taking the time to review!**

**Loti- A good theory :) Can't tell you if it's right or not quite yet. Oh, I probably should have touched a bit more on the reactions after Fight Club but by the time I posted the new chapter, it was too late to go back and rewrite it. Sorry about that! Glad you liked the chapter anyway though. Thank you for reviewing. **

**miss jayne76- Yeah, I felt like since I was putting Andre being Blaine's dad out in the open, I should have posted how it all came up. Plus now that Andre will probably be in more chapters, I wanted to get the back-story out there. Again, more good theories, but short of providing the outline, the only thing I can do is continue to write in my fortress :) Hope you enjoy the new update and thanks for the review!**

**anon- Yes, I did mean melancholy. Very tricky word, I even tried to look it up, but the internet failed me. Thank you for the correction and thank you for reviewing :)**

**Yesiamstragegetoverit- Lol, love the enthusiasm. Oh make sure you give him lots of hugs, I'm afraid I've been rather mean to him in this story! Ooo, some more good predications. Again, my lips are sealed, but I love hearing what everyone thinks is going to happen next :) Hope you like the update and thanks for the review!**

**Ittlebitz- Yeah, you're right (it was my first clue that Blaine's powers were so different from Robin and Cooper's). Even though I stand by my assertion that they could inherit powers from further a long in their bloodline since it does happen in nature quite a bit with other traits, I also think that Floyd being human would have made it harder for anything else in the bloodline to come forward (I'm a little bit interested in genetics and how they work so that aspect of the story has been fun for me to write). Yes, I'm really quite hard on Kurt in this story, but at least he has awesome powers. Plus if anyone could handle it, it'd be him. Hope you like the new chapter! Thanks for the review.**

**MegumiDarkAurora- Well, I know it's not hard to review, and believe me, I've been guilty of reading a story and being too lazy to review (a lot more than I care to admit, I should really pay it forward more), but it's still doing something that you don't have to do so I very much appreciate it! As for the note, I won't make one just yet but I know that if I were reading this, I would forget things too. I mean, I mention Wes and David's powers a lot but I like never talk about Nick or Jeff's unless they're in that chapter so there's would probably be harder to remember. That and I've read tons of stories where I've had to go back just to make sure I got everything (sometimes, I've even had to go back in this story and I wrote it, lol). It's never any trouble to answer question and I'm glad you liked the update.**

**Yes that seems to be my biggest shocker so far, lol. Well, except maybe Kurt's mom being immortal. Yeah, I didn't want her to have fire powers because then Blaine would have a reason to suspect Andre is his father (which he doesn't know yet and he's more familiar with Santana than he is Andre) so I made them element related. Plus, I haven't quite revealed what Santana's mom's powers are yet, so that could be a factor too. Just to clarify, their both connected to Andre. Floyd is Robin's husband and Cooper's father, and he thinks he's Blaine's father but Blaine is Andre's son while Santana is Andre's daughter with Maribel, and Tatiana (who I officially introduced in person this chapter) is Andre's daughter with his ex-wife. **

**We also found out that Kurt's mother was the founder of GAIA in chapter 12. And I don't think it's silly you didn't know she was an immortal. To be honest, I didn't even really confirm that she was superhuman until chapter 11 (although everyone suspected since the powers didn't come from Burt). Obviously I can't give too much away but I will say that Kurt's mom's powers are relatable to his but maybe not in the way everyone suspects. I like to compare his powers more to ghost powers than telekinesis if that helps too. I can't give any more hints than that though. Again, a very good guess but I must not reveal anymore :) So, as always, I hope you enjoy the update and thank you for reviewing!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Thank you very much! Hope you like the update :) **


	15. Chapter 15

Santana leaned over the sink and gently dabbed hot water across her face, being mindful of her make-up. Her arms shaking as for once everything felt too cold and claustrophobic. And it couldn't have come at a worse time. The New Directions were due to perform god knows when.

It was bad enough that Blaine Anderson and his mother were there. It was beyond unpleasant that Tatiana had shown up. But when she saw her biological father enter the building, she fought against the urge to vomit. What the hell was he doing there? Her hands were starting to freeze.

Then of course, Tatiana had come in at that very moment. "Oh yay…" Santana groaned. Tatiana skewed her face in distaste before coming in.

"Oh don't get so excited. I came in here to call my fiancée." She flashed her phone as if to prove her word. Santana rolled her eyes and started fixing her appearance in the mirror. "So, I guess you saw him…"

"Oh right, I forgot. Soon you'll be the first lady of the vocal adrenaline. Just makes the fact you're here all the more shitty." Santana had learned through her mother (god only knew why Maribel thought Santana would care) that Tatiana was engaged to vocal adrenaline's coach Dustin Goolsby. No doubt Goolsby had sent Tatiana to spy on the competition, but even she was a dream compared to her so-called father. "What the fuck is he doing here, anyway?"

"How should I know? We haven't talked since I got engaged, and we were barely talking before then." Santana pulled a small crayon of eyeliner out of her cleavage and started to rework the make-up she smeared. Tatiana looked out of the corner of her eye. "Dude, your hand is shaking…"

"I wonder why." Santana was careful to apply the eyeliner as carefully as she could. Her shaking hands made that hard. She hated how weak she looked right now. How emotional she was in front of her hated half-sister of all people.

Although, if she were to be honest with herself, she didn't hate Tatiana. She barely knew her. She hated that Tatiana was Andre's daughter—the acknowledged one and Santana hated that she was his daughter by name-on-child-support-check alone. Most of all, she hated that Andre had come today because it was simply insulting. He wasn't doing it for her, that's for damn sure. At least Tatiana hadn't bothered to use her as a front. Actually, Tatiana seemed to turn to Santana and give her this look of pity. "Here, let me…"

It didn't mean Santana was going to start being buddy-buddy with her either. Santana jerked her hand back. "Weren't you going to call your man or something?"

Tatiana retracted immediately. With a roll of her eyes she walked to the farthest corner of the bathroom. Santana started applying eyeliner again when the door opened and Brittany stepped in.

"Tana? Mr. Schue told me to come get you. He says if we hurry we can watch Kurt perform with some birds or whatever." Santana turned her head to Brittany and smiled. This whole mess reminded her of why she lo—liked Brittany so much. Her kindness and innocence was so refreshing in a world full of back-stabbers and evil. Brittany didn't know anything but light and bubbly and for Santana, that was something she could only dream of.

Brittany wouldn't care that she had been a child of scandal. She wouldn't care that Santana had powers. But Brittany wasn't the age limit to file with GAIA—Santana didn't really want to file with GAIA but it was the only way she could do it without Brittany being confused or hurt.

Santana smiled and put her eyeliner back in her dress. "Coming."

Brittany reached out and ran a thumb under her eyelid. "Your eyeliner smudged." She then studied the black mark on her finger and licked it off. Making a face that made Santana laughed. "I thought it was like lip gloss…"

Tatiana watched as her sister left with her friend. She then switched her attention back to the phone. "My sister just left…She's good but your competition there is Rachel Berry. The Warblers? Blaine Anderson. He's the lead…a new member? I don't know if he's good or not. They're not big on transferring students just for their voices, are they? I'll keep an eye on him. "The overhead lights started to blink on and off. "The first group is coming up babe, I have to go. Love you too. Bye."

Tatiana hung up her phone and walked out of the bathroom. Eyes just barely catching Cooper and Robin Anderson as they left. Really, she should have hated Robin. And Maribel. Her mother certainly did. But as far as Tatiana knew, they had just been pawns in her father's usual manipulation tactics. At least Robin was smart enough to get out and stay out.

She remembered what Cooper had said earlier about 'his brother'. She wondered if he knew or if the secret really was that guarded.

()()()()()()()

Robin sat nervously as the first group preformed. The Hipsters (Cooper had gone on a five-minute rant about how terrible the name was) were nowhere near good enough to beat the Warblers but that was only when she bothered to listen. Her mind was five rows back with Andre Moretta.

"Mom, are you alright?" Cooper asked after the last song. The crowd around them stood to applaud but Cooper flat-out refused. "I know that was terrible but you're really tense."

Robin forced a smile on her face. "I'm fine. I'm just worried… Maribel's here."

Cooper glanced over at Ms. Lopez sitting in the front row. Cooper shrugged. "So? It's been 16 years mom do you really think she's still mad about you taking her job? I don't think she even knows you're here." Robin grasped her armrest, squeezing her fingers around it. "Is this about Andre? Because he doesn't seem to care either. How mad can he be at you when he came to see Santana?"

_Oh, if only you knew. _ Robin bit back in her brain. She turned her head back just enough to see Andre. It was actually more than enough because his eyes matched hers and she turned forward immediately. Just what the hell was he doing here? Was he here for Santana? Robin? Blaine? It absolutely could not be the last one. She didn't give up her morality and sanity so Andre could destroy it at a Glee competition of all places.

"Tatiana's here too." Cooper added. Robin raised an eyebrow, forgetting her worries for a second.

"Tatiana's here too?" Robin asked. Cooper nodded. "Why is she here?"

"Officially, supporting Santana. Unofficially, spying for her fiancée." Cooper said the last part with a little bit of sting to his voice. Robin felt the immediate rush of emotions. Longing. Depression. Cooper most of the time was the same old goofy boy she had raised and loved—but there was always that small part of him that stopped him from going all the way back. The part that missed Chelsea every day.

It was tragic to fall in love with a human, Robin had learned. No matter how long you've been in love or how deeply in love you are. There were just too many unpredictable things. Too many things that couldn't be shared. How could you spend the rest of your life with someone if they couldn't even understand who you were?

In a way, Robin was grateful Blaine was starting to fall in love with Kurt. At least they shared the powers in common. Although, Robin noted as she chanced another glance at Andre, sometimes even relationships with other superhumans were complicated.

()()()()()()()

"Ladies and gentlemen, please put your hands together for the Dalton Academy Warblers!"

The curtain pulled back and the choruses began. Then Blaine's voice rang out and Kurt felt uplifted. Part of him should have been upset that they were just shuffling around. No original dance moves, no awesome arrangement. But hearing Blaine sing and watching him in his natural element, well, Kurt didn't mind so much.

He found a few faces in the audience. His dad couldn't make it because of work, but Carole was sitting several seats down from Ms. Lopez. She gave him an encouraging smile. Then his eyes caught the New Directions sitting more towards the middle. Rachel and Finn (who weren't sitting together? Had he missed something?) both waved at him. Rachel even made a motioned with her mouth. Smile. Had Kurt not been smiling? Santana even gave him a short nod when he looked at her.

Then, he saw Robin and Cooper. Cooper was moving his head with the music, sticking his bottom lip out in mock judgment. Robin was much more supportive—positively speechless watching her son perform. A sense of pride that ran so deep Kurt could feel it from on stage. Kurt had to wonder why it seemed like she and Blaine didn't always get along when clearly Robin was so proud of him.

Kurt was starting to lose focus though as they transitioned into Fireflies. Kurt felt a familiar light-headed. It came on so suddenly that Kurt was certain he wasn't getting sick. For once, Kurt was grateful the Warblers didn't move much—it was everything he could do to keep on his own two feet.

Then Uptown Girl came up and Kurt didn't know what to do. The sick feeling was getting stronger but the song was more upbeat and had a lot more choreography than the other two. Kurt watched as one of the Warblers did a break-dance move and wondered why they were so fine while Kurt had to move his back so not to be noticed.

He noticed Robin again and the concern look on her face. She didn't appear shock, it was only when Kurt looked to Cooper that he realized what was going on. It was the same thing that had happened when Cooper had used his compulsion him. One of, or maybe a few, of the Warblers were using compulsion in the performance and Kurt, who had little experience with compulsion, was feeling the back lash of it. Kurt didn't know if he should be upset that the Warblers were using their powers or if he should feel bad that he was the obvious weak link.

The song ended and the audience stood and applauded. Nick and Jeff bowed and motioned to the other Warblers. Kurt was dry heaving—if he didn't get to a bathroom soon, he was going to throw up right on the stage. When that feeling ten-folded, Kurt rushed off the stage. Even the bathroom was too far away, so Kurt found the nearest trashcan and puked into it. Thankful no one was in the halls as he emptied his stomach.

Then he heard frantic steps. "Kurt?" Kurt pulled his head back. Trent was rushing towards him. Trent was in the back with him so he must have been the only person who saw. "Kurt, are you alright?"

Kurt grasped the edge of the trashcan, his body shaking with the over-whelming feelings. "I don't know…The-the compulsions."

"Oh no, we forgot all about that." Trent breathed. He took a step closer to Kurt. "Look, let's get back to the group, okay? You can sit down and watch the performances."

Kurt had let it slip with the feeling of illness and Trent hadn't reacted fast enough in his concern for Kurt. But one of his hands moved from the trashcan and reached out to grasp Trent's shoulder for support. Trent gasped when he felt the fingers wrapped around his shoulder only to slack a second later.

Trent had felt powerful before. Just from being around the Warblers, he's experienced pretty much every type of power. But never before had he felt so powerful. He could feel Kurt's energy seeping into his and couldn't deny that part of him wanted to keep going. Then he realized that it was continuing and Trent's powers didn't work that way.

Kurt however, was paling as the strength was sucked out of him. He had been sick before but now, he felt like the air being forced out of him. Like his blood was turning cold and his heart was ceasing to beat. Like he was dying. And he was so weak that he couldn't even move his hand from Trent's body. Not until Trent grasped the hand and forced it away.

Kurt stumbled back and fell to the floor almost instantly. Some energy was still there. He could feel it with every shallow breath he gave. He clung to it as he felt his body shut down. It needed to heel. He didn't hear the loud trampling of the other Warblers surround him.

"Kurt? Kurt? Trent, what happened?" He heard Blaine's voice ask.

"I-I-I he was overwhelmed by everyone's powers."

"Well shit, they shouldn't have done this much." David said with a shaking voice. Kurt felt his mind going black. The last thing he heard was a woman's voice—Robin's—come into the mix.

"Give him some space! Blaine, pick him up and get him to a room right now!"

()()()()()()()

Cooper and Robin had rushed back stage as soon as they noticed Kurt becoming weak. By the time they reached the halls back stage, Kurt was on the floor with the other Warblers crowding him. Robin pushed her way through the crowd of boys and started giving orders. Blaine couldn't lift Kurt alone, so David leaned down lifted Kurt quite easily into his arms. Robin silenced Blaine's possessive glare with a harsh look of her own. She simply couldn't spare any time to let her son play Sir. Galahad.

Then to make things more complicated, just as they started moving to the closest green room, the New Directions were rushing down the hall. Robin was starting to feel claustrophobic with the feeling of nervousness and rushing adrenaline. "Oh my god, Kurt!" David stopped but Robin motioned him forward.

"Get him to the room." She commanded softly. David nodded and carried Kurt into the green room. Most of the other Warblers following after him. Robin then turned to address the New Directions. "Look, I assure you Kurt is fine and we are handling the situation."

"Fine?" A big tall boy came up in front of her. His presence the oddest mixture of dominance and uncertainty. Cooper saw this, and hung back for a minute to support his mother. The boy's emotions were running the highest as he pointed after Kurt. "That's my step-brother! Are you really trying to tell me not to be worried about that?"

Robin met his eyes with a calm, take-charge aura. "I understand your concerned but there's nothing you can do for Kurt right now and adding another body would just complicate things. Let us deal with him. I believe you have a performance to get to. Cooper."

Robin walked back into the room where Kurt was. Cooper clapped his hands and pointed towards the stage. Robin would have casted a spell over them but there was absolutely no way she could focus with all the commotion and emotions going on. At least not when over-powering as many as she would have to.

Just as she stepped through the door, she heard Kurt's stepbrother whisper to Cooper as his classmates walked away. "Is it because of his powers?"

Robin backed out the room and stared at Kurt's stepbrother. One look at this boy and she knew he wasn't superhuman. Too humble with none of the conflictions that came from being a superhuman. He wasn't reserved like Burt Hummel (though she was sure the situation at hand wasn't helping either) but she could just sense it. That meant Kurt would have told him.

And to make matters worse, Andre Moretta was coming down the hallway that very moment. She leaned close to the boy. Her presence much stronger than her height as Finn backed up. "Do not breathe a word to anyone else, understood? It would be dangerous for you and Kurt…" He swallowed and nodded. Robin flicked her eyes over to Cooper. "Escort him to the stage."

Cooper grasped the boy's shoulder and guided him until he started walking to the stage. Robin didn't bother trying to retreat to the room. She waited until Andre caught up to her. "What's going on?"

"One of the Warblers got stage fright and passed out. Nothing so exciting." Robin insisted. The two hadn't even spoken since Andre confronted her. Her wrists were still healing. The tension was high but brought up even more because Robin didn't want Andre digging around about Kurt right now. "Aren't you here to see Santana? Her group's going on right now."

"He passed out from stage fright but made his way through a performance?" Andre narrowed his eyes. "You know, it's getting rather tiring for you to deceive me Robin…"

"I'm not deceiving you, Andre. There's nothing to be worried about. " Robin then lowered her voice and got close to him. "If you're not here for Santana, then there's no reason for you to be here. Either way, you being here is a distraction…"

"I think you've forgotten Robin that you work for me!"

"Mom, is everything alright?" Cooper asked as he rushed up quickly. Cooper didn't like Andre. He hadn't since the decision was made regarding his and Chelsea's relationship. But he especially didn't appreciate how close Andre was to his mother right now. Robin nodded and took advantage of the distraction and went into the room where Kurt was.

Kurt was draped on a couch, still unconscious but twitching. Robin's eyes immediately followed the sound of a loud bang. Blaine had Trent shoved against the wall, eyes glowing almost as gold as the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance. A few Warblers rushed from beside Kurt and over to the commotion.

Robin rushed over and growled. "Blaine Robert!"

"What did you do to him?" Blaine yelled in a low voice. Trent watched Blaine with wide, horrified eyes.

"Nothing! I wouldn't hurt Kurt, you know that!"

"We don't know anything about you! You've been so closed mouth and secretive and I finally figured out why…absorber!"

"Blaine! That's enough!" Robin grasped and pulled him back. Trent started shaking as tears started welling in his eyes. Robin knew Trent's entire history. She had been placed in charge oh his case when his parents died. She knew how hard it was on him personally to be an absorber and how afraid he was of judgment like Blaine had just casted.

Control was slipping fast. Robin needed to get a handle on things before it got any worse. She glared at Blaine. "You need to leave. Now." Her tone left no room for argument. Blaine choked back his argument and made a turn. When he slammed the door open and then shut. A burn print was left on the door where his hand was.

Robin sighed. She had to deal with one mess at a time.

**And ta-da! Chapter 15. Sorry for the weak ending place. Just so much I wanted to write and I had a hard time picking a place to end. Lots of crazy drama and we're not even done yet! Also, I'm sorry there's been a lot of focus on Tatiana (I swear she does have a point to this story, more than being Blaine and Santana's sister). **

**In other news, I'm excited to say as I write this that The Rising Sun is 9 reviews away from reaching a 100! Which just blows my mind! You guys have been incredibly awesome with your reviews and alerts and favorites that I don't know how to thank you (so many hypothetical high-fives going on, believe me, lol). I feel like I should do something special for the 100****th**** reviewer—any ideas? **

**And now, to address the reviews I already have :)**

**ToniBalogna978- I've already said this in message but yes, you're theory is extremely close to what's going on :) Can't wait for you to see! Thank you for the review as always. **

**miss jayne76- Lol, Shining reference! It's funny since I got some of the inspiration for this from a Stephen King novel. And you guessed correctly on Trent playing a big role. Can't comment yet on Burt and Kurt yet but obviously, they'll have to talk about Finn after this chapter. Lol, thank you for saying the story is fabulous and also for inventing the fortress. I rather like having a fortress. Thank you for the review!**

**Yesiamstragegetoverit- Isn't most royalty messed up a bit though? Lol. I mean. Modern royalty is pretty calm but back in the day, cousins married cousins, people had lots of extra-marital affairs, etc. In any case, it's a very good description of Kurt (regarding him being half-ghost). I know, very mean to Blaine in this story, but he'll get love from Kurt soon :) Thanks for the review and hope you enjoy the update!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Making Sebastian his date was really sad to do; even though I don't like Sebastian that much. Thank you so much! I'm a little bit worried that I'm putting on too many questions so I'm glad to hear it's fairly enjoyable still. Hope you like the new chapter and thank you for the review!**

**Ittlebitz- Yeah, pretty much :) Lol, I don't think he'll be heading towards it for a while, but reading it made me giggle. Yup, you got it (although as of this chapter, Trent's having some secrets come out it would seem). And it sounds like something Cooper would do, even if he didn't know it was his brother's half-sister. Just another day in the life of superhumans…. Thank you for the review! **


	16. Chapter 16

Kurt felt himself slowly push through the dark. His body still weak but the fact that he could feel anything made him feel better. He heard an excited voice beside him. "Mom, I think he's waking up!"

Kurt opened his eyes against the starling light just as Robin came into his view. She brushed some hair away from his face. The warmth of her hand startled him. "Kurt? How are you feeling?"

"Really tired." He mumbled. The fog started to lift from his head and realized the last thing he remembered was performing on stage. "Mrs. Anderson, what happened?"

"Oh sweetie, by this point, you can call me Robin." Robin said with a comforting, maternal smile. "A few of the boys used their powers on stage and you weren't use to them so you got sick."

Cooper chuckled. "You puked something fierce into the trash. Haven't seen that much barf since my 21st birthday." Robin shot him a glare as Kurt groaned.

"I remember that." He said in a sarcastic tone. "But…"

"No, it's not what made you pass out. At least not entirely." Robin explained. "Although I've never seen powers quite like yours, some powers are very sensitive to the energy they possess. Trent touched you and took some of your energy and that's what made you pass out." Kurt looked even more confused so Robin sighed and looked up to Cooper. "Cooper, would go get Trent for me please?"

Cooper nodded and stood up. Kurt took a look at the room around him. A line of make-up mirrors and desks were aligned along the wall and corner. There were a few chairs and couches and here and there (Kurt was currently rested on one) but out of the corner of his eye he noticed a black hand-mark on the door. Robin followed Kurt's eyes and smiled. "My son got upset with Trent and nearly attacked him. I had to ask him to leave and he wasn't thrilled about that. He was very worried about you."

"What? What did…?" Kurt's mind flickered back to all the times Trent refused to touch him. He had just figured Trent was shy. Why hadn't he figured out that it had something to do with Trent's powers? That was such a Finn move! "But Trent didn't want me to touch him! I was the one who grabbed him!"

"Kurt, please calm down….and I know. I'm very familiar with Trent's case and abilities. Blaine is just—he likes to bury his emotions. He think he's controlling them but really, he's making it worse for when he loses his temper."

"Robin?" Trent asked weakly from the doorway. "You wanted to see me?"

Robin nodded and walked over to Trent. Kurt found him surprised by just how small the female Anderson was. Trent was about his height, which meant he practically towered over her. However, because Robin was such an authority figure, her aura seemed so much larger than anyone else's in the room. "I think perhaps you should tell Kurt about your powers, Trent. Everything." Trent's large eyes panicked for a moment. They then narrowed and he nodded. "Do you want me to leave?"

"No, please stay—to fill in the blanks when I can't." Kurt picked himself up off the couch as much as he could. A grimace here and there but he managed to sit up in a position that wouldn't make him dizzy. Trent sat next to Kurt while Robin perched herself upon the arm of the couch. Trent nervously twiddled his thumbs and began with a small laugh. "I guess it's easier to begin with my parents…I haven't talk about them in a long time." Robin put a hand on Trent's shoulder and squeezed. "I'm a half-blood."

Kurt recalled his first meeting with Blaine, Wes, and David in which he described the Harry Potter terms they borrowed and what they meant. Trent was like him and Blaine. One of his parents was human. "My mom was a human and my dad was an absorber. His powers were the same as mine—he could take pieces of energy from other people and hold on to that power for a period of time. I think because he was a pure blood he could hold on to powers a lot longer than I could… "

Trent trailed off and his lip quivered. Robin cleared her throat and continued for him. "Sometimes absorbers can develop mental illness—some from the consequences their powers cause, others because taking energy from another person is sometimes like taking a little bit of that person with them. Like if an absorber took energy from five people, it'd be like having six people in one body. It's not like that for the majority but for some, it is."

Kurt nodded his head, having something of an idea of where this was going. "But you're dad was one?" Trent made a noise of agreement. Kurt noticed the corner of his eyes begin to water. Robin moved her arm around to his other shoulder like a half embrace.

"Trent's father started showing signs of aggression. Other superhumans from his work would complain of him subtly trying to take their powers and for starting fights with some of his friends—sometimes in a humanized environment. Then Michelle, Trent's mother, complained that he was starting to talk to himself and becoming very paranoid. We had to launch an investigation to protect interest of our secret as well as the interests of Trent and Michelle. He…didn't take kindly to that."

"Decided to kill us. My mom and I." Trent's hoarse voice explained. Kurt looked to Trent as an uncontrollable gasp left his lips. Robin bit her lip, looking as if she wanted to interject with something. Maybe a 'he wasn't in a good mind frame' or 'he can't be blamed' but it appeared as though Trent couldn't be soothed no matter what was said. "He absorbed my mom's energy…she's a human so once he took most of it, she couldn't regenerate it so…she didn't stand a chance. Then he tried to get me next but I hid away and waited…"

"Waited for what?" Kurt couldn't help but ask.

Trent rubbed a face over his hand, trying to think of the best way to put it. "I had gotten my powers just that summer so…I hid and waited until I got a chance at him. When his back was turned, I absorbed his powers." Trent started to curl further in on himself. "I don't know if you understand Kurt…Some absorbers had the ability to separate power energy from life energy, but their own energy can't separate…. When an absorber has their energy taken by another absorber, they die. Every time."

Kurt stares in disbelief. Kurt knows Trent is telling him something he's never told another person (besides perhaps Robin) before. Kurt begins to realize that no one in the Warblers really knew anything about Trent—not even what his powers were. The distance had been created by Trent himself not because he was shy or preferred his own company, but because of who he was and what had happened in his past.

Trent's powers had done the same thing to him they had done to Kurt. They made him lonely. "But…you didn't have a choice. He was going to kill you. He killed your mom."

"It was still my dad…I think about it all the time. I can't help it. It's still there within my powers." Robin looked exasperated, as if she had gone over this many times with him and had been unable to get past the barriers of Trent's mind.

"Trent's developed a mutation with his powers…it occurs when absorbers take from other absorbers." Robin said pushing right along. Trent stayed within himself for a minute. Trying to regain the sense of privacy he just lost. "Trent's abilities extend past just taking someone's abilities. When he touches someone, he also picks up a little bit of knowledge about that person… It's been difficult for him to be close with people because of not only past but because every time he touches someone, he learns something about them—things people may not want him to know….I was there when GAIA employees found Trent and his parents in the house and since then, we've been looking after him. Since the incident was self-defense, he didn't get a mark on his record."

Trent finally uncurls from his self. His face looks pale like at any moment he might pass out. Kurt looks to Robin as if to ask for an explanation. "Blaine revealed to the other Warblers that Trent was an absorber. Now, he didn't mean to… he was just upset." Robin explained when Kurt's face began to flush in anger. Trent nodded in confirmation of this. "But the other boys may have reservations about an absorber being among them, especially when you've been harmed…Kurt, Trent needs you on his side."

Kurt nodded in agreement and met Trent's eyes. He saw the confusion, the fear, and the self-loathing. Emotions Kurt had faced on a daily basis since he discovered superhuman's existed. Kurt knew Trent would never hurt him. If he didn't before, he knew it now. It killed Trent every day since he had to take his father's life.

"I'm sorry, Trent." Kurt said, hand stopping itself from touching him from habit. Trent smiled weakly, the last of his tears beginning to dry. Trent seemed to sense understanding in Kurt and his smile was somehow bright and grateful.

"Well, they're about to announce the winning Glee club. We should get going—can you walk Kurt?" Robin asked. Kurt nodded and stood up on jittery feet. Kurt shook his head when Robin tried to help him. Trent took even steps with Robin and leaned over to whisper.

"Thank you, Robin." Trent whispered.

Robin smiled a small smile. "I'm sorry Blaine reacted badly and you had to come forward."

Trent shrugged, though his body language suggested he was more upset. "I know Kurt will stand by me…Was there something wrong before this? You seemed rather on edge when I saw you in the audience."

Robin sighed as the smile fell from her face. She could have lied, but after everything that had occurred, she was just too tired. Besides, lying didn't do her much good when Trent knew the truth from that first touch when Robin had found the thirteen year old boy curled up under the family desk.

"Blaine's biological father is here." Trent nodded knowingly and 'ah'd'

"Well, I guess you got lucky with all the secrets that are coming out today." Robin pat his shoulder and laughed slightly.

"He's been unpredictable lately… I just hope he keeps the secret."

"I will." Trent assured.

Robin nods as they finally reach the stage. "Thank you."

She stood off the side of the stage as everyone (in both the Warblers and the New Directions) looked relieved as Kurt stepped on stage with Trent at his side. The Hipsters stood farthest on the stage. And it fit because they were announced as second place winners. Looks of confusion was shared between the high school groups before the announcer stated that New Directions and Warblers were tied for first place and both were going Regional's. There was a loud cheer as the groups hugged each other and jumped around. Kurt noticed three things. Finn, Rachel, and Mercedes rushed across the stage to hug and ask Kurt if he was okay. The second thing he noticed was how far away Trent was from the group.

The final thing Kurt noticed was how no one made attempt to hug or celebrate with Trent. Kurt had hoped the events of today would not cause that much more distance between Trent and their brethren. That maybe being freaks themselves would make them more understanding.

When Blaine had told him all those months ago that absorbers had a stigma in this world, he didn't imagine it was this bad.

()()()()()()()

Tatiana entered the small restaurant and her eye immediately caught Dustin sitting in the far corner. Two of his students sitting with him. One Jesse St. James, who had graduated and was now his assistant coach, and another was his star student, Sunshine Corazon. Dustin appeared to be talking to someone on the earpiece that was never missing from his ear—in the same condescending voice he spoke to everyone with. However, underneath the shallow speech patterns and over attention to appearance was a man with determination. The rebel with blue eyes she had fallen in love with.

Plus, her father hated him. That was always a bonus.

"Tiana!" Dustin called out loudly. A large smile crossing his face as he motioned her over. Tatiana quickly walked over, sitting in the seat next to Sunshine. The bubbly girl gave her a big smile. "So baby, what do you have for daddy?" Tatiana gave him a narrow look. "Oh my bad, I forgot. What do you have for me?"

"It's fine…" Tatiana said in a quiet voice before clearing it and continuing. "It was a tie between the Warblers and the New Directions. They're both going to be at regional's. Blaine Anderson was really great this year, but I have a feeling if it's not pop it's not his style."

"Can he do funk though?" Jesse sounded out as if Tatiana was an idiot. Dustin elbowed him, which made Tatiana smile.

"Maybe if he's given his time. I doubt it though."

"What about the new kid?" Dustin asked. Tatiana shrugged.

"I was able to get some info from one of the parents…I guess he moved from McKinley because of bullying. He was stumbling off stage—I think he got dizzy from the compulsion spells." Dustin leaned forward with more interest. It seemed like he had treated this new kid with special consideration since the rumor began.

"And what's his name?"

"According to the program…Kurt Hummel."

Sunshine nodded excitedly. "I remember him from McKinley!... He's the counter-tenor. One of the more talented ones from the group." Dustin blue-eyes swirled with intrigue. "I thought maybe he was a superhuman from the rumors that came around."

"What rumors?" Jesse asked with more respect than he had regarded Tatiana. The older woman had a feeling Sunshine had drilled into Jesse's head very quickly that she was not to be messed with.

"Well, a girl told me my first day there that he had disappeared when some big football player tried to hit him."

"Interesting." Dustin said in a low voice, hand reaching out to play with Tatiana's fingers. "And if the compulsion spells made him sick, that must mean he hasn't been around many superhumans. Could impact future performances."

"New Directions can't compare. They only have one superhuman in their group now. The Warblers have gone to nationals with us for years." Jesse ran a hand through his hair. "Although…they do have Rachel Berry."

Sunshine made a face at the mention of Rachel's name. Tatiana lifted her head a little higher at the name. She thought the soloist from New Directions looked familiar… she just didn't realize it until they identified her. Now that it was in her head, there was no missing the connection. "That girl was Rachel Berry...Shit, I thought she looked familiar…"

All three Vocal Adrenaline members looked up at Tatiana. "You know her?"

"No, not her per say. I know her mother." Tatiana offered no further explanation. And thankfully, they didn't ask for more. Tatiana believed in complete honesty but she wasn't sure if she could reveal this secret.

It wasn't hers to tell. She wouldn't even know about it if she hadn't overheard a conversation between her aunt and father so many years ago.

()()()()()()()

Shelby Corcoran was sitting in her apartment playing with her baby daughter Beth. Beth, in Shelby's opinion, looked exactly like her biological mother—who was more beautiful than most superhuman's she had met. It wasn't usual for a superhuman, a single one at that, to adopt a human with no known superhuman bloodlines, but she had her connections and for once, they had worked in her favor.

Shelby had watched her biological daughter grew up from afar. Rachel had turned out beautiful and talented, but seeing and hearing her at the last glee competition had been just too painful. It broke her heart enough to send her out of the auditorium and out of Vocal Adrenaline. She had instead passed it off to a student of hers from long ago, Dustin Goolsby, under the watchful eye of Jesse St. James.

She had heard that night that one of the New Directions was giving birth. Hours later, she was filing out the adoption papers for Beth with her brother by her side. The hole left in her chest slowly filling.

There was a knock at her door. Speak of the devil, she was sure. She picked Beth up from her playpen and walked over to her apartment door pulling it open. Sure enough, her brother stood at her doorstep. A tired smile grew on her lips. "Andre."

Andre Moretta took off his glasses and smiled at his sister and niece. "Shelby." He said simply, reaching over to hug her before stepping into his room. "It's been an interesting afternoon…I've been in the same room with two of my former mistress and all three of my children."

"So you're acknowledging Blaine now?" Shelby said shutting the door. Andre didn't wait to be offered a drink. Instead, he helped himself into the kitchen to make Shelby a pot of tea. The sentence wasn't bitter—it was matter-of-fact. Shelby had known Blaine was her nephew since Robin gave birth, perhaps even before that. It had taken Andre much longer to admit that there was even a possibility.

Andre's big flaw in life was turning out like their father. Though they grew up together, Andre and Shelby were only half-siblings. Andre's mother had been an hydrokinetic while her mother had been a human with superhuman roots. By all means, Shelby should have been a pyrokinetic or simply human. However, through her mother's side of the family, she had been passed a rare and sacred power. It was because of this, Shelby had been raised in her father's house with her older brother and a line of stepmother's..

"Robin doesn't want me in his life. She's still clinging to that sham of a marriage with that…" Shelby glanced over her shoulder as if to remind him of her human roots. Andre sighed. "Idiot Anderson…"

Shelby felt Beth drifting off to sleep in her arms. She lowered the baby down into the playpen. "Well, could you blame her? You were a little too much like Daddy…he might be proud that you managed to get two illegitimate children."

"Ironic…considering the reason you had me go today." Andre came out with two cups of warm tea. Shelby sighed and accepted one, both of them taking a seat on the couch so they could talk. "She looks exactly like you. Sings like you too. For a moment, I thought I was looking at the teenage version of the great Shelby Corcoran."

Shelby bit her lip, letting the warm liquid pool and tingle in her mouth before swallowing it. "It's so much what I wanted but exactly what I'm afraid of…. It hurts just seeing her. I really don't understand how you throw away the opportunities you had with your own kids."

Andre's eyes start to gold around the edges. It fades away very quickly. It's harsh and bitter to say, but it's true. Even he can't deny that. He remembers how hard it was for Shelby to give Rachel up. It came at a rather unfortunate time as well as that was around the time Maribel became pregnant with Santana. "You could still be with her. There's still time."

Shelby shook her head. "It's in the contract I made with Hiram and Leroy—I can't contact her unless she contacts me first. I signed away everything when I gave her up. I can't blame them, I guess. They didn't want me to change my mind and take her away. Not that I could if I wanted to."

He nodded in remembrance. It was the very contract he had talked her into signing. "You did what you had to Shelby. When they killed Carl, it wasn't safe for her to be here."

The pain whenever Carl's name is mention flickers within. Carl had been an example of everything good in this world. Charming. Trusting. Always seeking the best in everyone. Extremely modest for a superhuman. His passion in life was not his power, but rather his job as a dentist. He loved making a beautiful smile, and he had once said Shelby's was a work of art.

They were an unlikely pair because while Shelby had always sought out attention and took risks, Carl preferred to be in the background and stay in a safe environment. A shame since he had a beautiful voice that very nearly rivaled her own. Nonetheless, they had fallen madly in love and Shelby had just managed to convince him to come with her to New York when she announced she was pregnant. He was happy to follow her. Happy she was pregnant. Happy they would be a family.

Then it was stolen away. Carl had turned up dead as he had 'fallen' from a building, but Shelby knew it wasn't true. It was because of one night. The night where Carl, as a favor to her, had taken her best friend to her new location. Shelby had him do it only because she was too obvious and thought no one would suspect him. It turned out. Shelby could only imagine the torture Carl had been forced through before his energy was drained and he was thrown from the building. But of course, he had never told—because Shelby had made him promise not to. A fall was an easy scapegoat. Bruises near impossible to distinguish—something that would certainly kill a superhuman whose only power was to create visions inside a person's head. She had been nearly 7 months pregnant with their daughter when it happened. The person who killed Carl was likely to kill her next and quite possibly, the only thing left of Carl. Shelby had no choice. As much as she wanted the baby, she had to give her up.

Andre had located a human associate of his. A man who worked for the government and one of the few humans who knew about GAIA but was not integrated through family. Hiram Berry. The baby, upon birth, became the youngest superhuman to ever be disempowered before Shelby signed her life away. Soon after that, Shelby left for New York, changing her last name from Moretta to Corcoran.

In the 17 years since that day, Shelby returned to Ohio once it appeared her life was no longer in danger. Andre had given her the baby's chosen name, Rachel, and told her where she now resided but warned Shelby that Rachel was now established in her life and there was no way she could be taken from it now. It broke the older woman's heart to learn her brother was right…but at least she was alive. And at least she didn't have to carry the pain of losing Carl like Shelby had.

Shelby takes a look at Beth sleeping in her playpen. "I always wonder who she's more like though. I know she looks like me. I know she sings like me…but I wonder if she's kind like him. If she's considerate like him. If she makes the same stupid jokes or has the same horrible fashion sense. How you could love so many women, I may never understand. Every time I so much as look at another man, all I see is Carl."

"I don't love them. Not all of them." Andre states simply. With a snort, he continues. "I never loved Anika. Vile, unintelligent woman…the only good thing I got out of her was Tatiana. I would never married her if it hadn't been for Tatiana."

"Too bad Anika convinced her you're a monster…though the affairs didn't help." Andre waves his hand.

"She cheated on me just as much as I cheated on her. Something you'll notice is never mentioned when people slam me…Maribel was sweet but…I didn't love her. I feel guilty of taking advantage of her. I don't deserve her forgiveness, even if she ever gave it to me." Maribel Lopez never did. He had used her—used her to deal with the stress of his divorce. Used her as an outlet of sexual frustration. He had always intended to come forward about Santana, once his divorce settled and nothing that belonged to Santana could be taken from him. Then everything with Shelby happened and he simply couldn't deal with it when his sister's life was potentially in danger. Since then Maribel has never trusted him to be a father and because of it, he and Santana would never have a relationship. It was too late by the time she even agreed to let him try—today for example, Santana had run off in a fury when she caught sight of Andre. He didn't want to cause his daughter any more stress than she already had in her childhood (when his enemies sought to use her against him) so he decided it was better if he was out of her life.

"And what about Robin?" Shelby asked quietly. Andre sighed and set his cup down.

"Robin." He echoed. Robin was special. Robin had stirred something in him no other woman had ever been able to. He really cared for her. He admired her. "I loved her." He admitted out loud.

Shelby raised an eyebrow. "You loved her so you let another man raise your child with her?"

"Exactly." He said without missing a beat. "She made it clear who she wanted to be Blaine's father and it wasn't me. No matter how much I wanted her—I couldn't force her to be with me because of a child. My family had been destroyed and even if I hated Anika, I could never get back what I messed up with Tatiana. I couldn't destroy her family too. I want her to happy…even if it was with another man."

Shelby stared at her brother. Part of her still hated the fact that he could have access to his children—that he could have raised Blaine but didn't. At the same time, she could understand why he did it. People did crazy things for love, and Andre did extreme things for the people he loved. He had been there for Shelby during the greatest loss of her life and there when it happened again. He had let the love of his life and their son go for the sake of keeping her happy. It was uncharacteristically selfless yet not surprising.

"I'm worried." He says suddenly and gravely. As if he's afraid to talk about this. "Robin's been digging around lately. When I ask her about, she's been lying to me but I'm afraid she may dig up and destroy everything we've sacrificed…"

Shelby's heart started pounding. He couldn't be serious, could he? There was simply no way his former lover could uncover their hard work and make Carl's death in vain. "What do you mean?" She asked breathlessly.

Andre reached into his coat pocket and produced a program from the competition. He extended it towards Shelby. "Look under the New Directions. You'll understand."

She took the program and flipped it open. Her finger skimmed along the New Direction's names until she found it and gasped. How had she missed it? Had she really watched him on stage and seen him at the hospital without ever knowing who he was? Had she been oblivious in her desire to see Rachel?

_Kurt Hummel_. The name clear as day just as Shelby had read it when Andre had showed her the article some ten years ago. She could have sworn a tear rolled down her cheek just thinking the name in her head.

Beth started to cry. Andre got up and picked her up, shushing and rocking her in his arms. Shelby looked at her face as a furry of emotions raced through her. Beth's biological parents had picked her name. Shelby had liked it and kept it but she had never exactly revealed why. Now as Shelby was faced with this new information she wondered how safe she, Rachel, or even Beth were.

It had been convenient that the two teens had wanted to name her Beth. It was the perfect excuse for her to write the full name on the birth certificate. Elizabeth Andrea Corcoran. Andrea of course, in honor of the brother who had helped her get Beth, and Elizabeth in honor of her best friend—who had happened to be Kurt's mother.

**And I got over my writers block just enough to write that all out. However, it seems my brain went into overload and this was the result. I feel like I should go over it a little bit since I just keep throwing stuff at you guys and since I did stray quite a bit from cannon here.**

**Rather than Rachel being the biological daughter of Hiram and Shelby, I decided to make it so Hiram and Leroy adopted her from Shelby. Her biological father, I've decided since I didn't want to make another OC, is Dr. Carl Howell, Emma's first husband in the show. My mom's a huge Stamos fan so we were totally excited when he came on the show, yet disappointed with the way things played out. So, I guess this is me trying to incorporate him? Plus, I could totally see Idina Menzel and John Stamos getting together and producing Rachel. Shelby had to give Rachel up because Carl was murdered (can't reveal that quite yet but many of you will probably know just from reading, lol) and she feared Rachel would be in danger. Andre found Rachel a human couple to live with and had her disempowered so she could live among human's in the hopes it would be next to impossible for her to be found. Part of the deal on Hiram and Leroy's part is, like in the cannon, Shelby cannot contact Rachel. Also, Shelby in this is Andre's half-sister—which means not only is Shelby Blaine's biological aunt, but Rachel is also Blaine's biological cousin. Again, kind of strayed from cannon here, but it's one secret that will lead to other secrets being revealed! Again, just wanted to go over that since I went waaaay away from cannon on this one. Who doesn't love a good conspiracy theory? **

**Now with that all being said, thank you to my readers, reviewers, alerters, and favoriters who follow this story and all it's crazy secrets! You guys are the best :) Especially since this story reached 100 reviews! Woo! In case you guys are wondering, I celebrated with a pop tart. Hypothetical high fives for all! **

**Ittlebitz- It would appear we do (although of all the Warblers, Trent may be the one I least suspected to be Rogue but funny how things work)! Angry, protective Blaine is EXTREMELY hot…I think we need more of it in Glee :) Thank you for the review!**

**butterblainesbutt- Aw! Thank you very much! Hope you like the new chapter!**

**miss jayne76- Just another day at the fortress of doom :). Although I did get to a lot about Trent, I didn't get a chance to gage his reaction to Kurt's powers (or get papa bear Burt's reaction to Kurt passing out—bad me!) but don't worry, it's coming next chapter! Yeah, you're telling me! I think I've given Blaine the most soap opera like family since the Cassadine's or Spencer's on General Hospital. I don't think I can do another big secret though so it's getting time to start revealing! Hope you enjoy the new chapter and thank you as always for the review! P.S., I noticed it was doing some weird stuff last time I updated. It must be because they did all the updates and such. Hopefully everything goes smoothly now!**

**Yesiamstragegetoverit- Well, you were half right about that so good job :) Finn's fairly safe…for now…but of course, it will have to be dealt with. Blaine can't help it—though in retrospect I did make him a little mean (but it was in the name of love, right?). I don't know if anyone was expecting the reason I came up with for Andre being at sectionals. I hope all these crazy family secrets aren't getting out of hand. Hope you enjoy the new chapter. Thanks for the review!**

**Msdarque- Thank you very much! Kurt is okay, just probably a little mentally scarred after all I've put him through. Thank you for the congratulations and thank you for the review :)**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Thank you! There is a lot and now I've just piled more (though I assure you, they'll all connect together into one big pile of drama!). I'm always so mean to everyone…Making Kurt an oddity among superhumans, making Blaine's biological father a different man, giving Robin a HUGE mess to clean up. Fortunately, she's good at it. Hope you enjoy this update! Thanks for the review!**

**LeBeauAJ- Oh I hope you didn't get too tired reading it those late nights—though I'd be lying if I saying I was flattered you did. Thank you! I hope you like this chapter as much as the others. Thanks for the review :)**

**MegumiDarkAurora- And your chapter 15 review happened to the 100****th**** review! Yay! Thank you so much as I was able to celebrate with a happy dance and a pop tart. I wouldn't feel stupid—if I was reading this story, I think I would get confused from time to time too, and I wrote it! Just a ton of stuff going on, lol, it's hard to keep things straight. Sometimes even I have to go back and reread sections to make sure I'm not screwing up. (This especially happened when I finalized my decision to make Kurt's mother a superhuman and immortal). Sebastian isn't Blaine's tormentor; it was his date who was killed by the tormentors—although I can see how that would confusing since I said one of his tormentors died (now that I think about it, why isn't HE the one haunting Blaine?). I don't think it's silly, lol makes me feel better because I was trying to be subtle and mysterious and a lot of people didn't expect it so I must have done a good job. I like Kurt and Trent being friends too. They never really explored Kurt's friendship with the other Warblers in Glee. Some of my favorite fanfictions are the ones based off of the friendships between the Warblers and the wacky things those boys do. **

**Yes, Tatiana and Santana are half-sisters. Tatiana is related to Andre—she's his biological daughter with his ex-wife and the oldest of the siblings. And yes Dustin has powers (soon to be revealed!) and I have big plans for him. I think the character you're thinking of is Dakota Stanley. Dustin is the guy who takes over for Shelby when she quits Vocal Adrenaline. However, it's funny you say that because when I went to research to make sure I was correct (since Dakota and Dustin are minor characters) I found out that Cheyenne Jackson, who played Dustin, was originally supposed to play Dakota but got sick and couldn't so they wrote Dustin for him. Cool stuff :)**

**Ah yes, next chapter (or maybe the one after that) will have what happens to Finn now that Robin knows he knows. We're also about to really explore Kurt's relationship in GAIA and why he wasn't in the system. Thank you for saying that! No, no one knew that Trent was an absorber; he kept it to himself out of fear because absorbers have something of a bad name in the superhuman world. As for that section, I could totally see why you'd be confused—it wasn't really explained very well with just that paragraph. While all absorbers have the same basic ability (they can take or copy powers) there are a lot of ways they could do it. Some can copy powers just by touching someone, others kill that person when they take them, and in Trent's case, he usually only takes a little bit of energy when he absorbs someone's powers. Usually, he just takes the piece when he touches someone and that person doesn't feel anything besides a little weakness. However, when he touched Kurt, the energy continued to flow into him even though he has only taken pieces before. I gave a hint or two in this chapter as to how this might happen but I can't reveal anything else quite yet :) In that particular dance number, Kurt was the weak link but only because he was so overwhelmed (at top notch shape, he would have been the star). I never really stated who among the Warblers has compulsion—just a few of the minor characters who don't have names quite yet…poor guys probably never will. I hope you enjoy the update! Congratulations on being the 100****th**** review (if there's anything you want to see in this story of anything else you can think of to celebrate, let me know)! And Thank you as always for reviewing. **


	17. Chapter 17

"Kurt, you in here?" Blaine pauses at the archway of the common area when he saw Kurt and Trent sitting on the couch studying for finals coming up next week. Trent looked down immediately. Blaine apologized for his behavior on the bus back from Sectionals but Blaine and really, all the Warblers except the one that should be had been more hesitant regarding Trent. In a way, the trust the Warblers had been broken as well as Trent's privacy regarding his past. Kurt wished he could say that's all it was but given that he had been the only person to sit with Trent since the incident, Kurt was beginning to realize the stigma given to absorbers was much more powerful than he had originally thought.

Blaine had at least tried to make a mends with Trent. It upset Kurt (Kurt had made it abundantly clear that Blaine had no excuse to shove Trent like he did) and his mother had given him a stern talking to as well. He knew in his heart that Trent wouldn't hurt Kurt; that being an absorber didn't automatically mean he would go crazy. At the same time it was hard to swallow how much they didn't know about Trent and how much he kept from them. The Warblers were supposed to be a brotherhood; it was like living in a house of awesome brothers. After what happened at Sectionals, it was hard for The Warblers to trust Trent like they use to.

Trent realized that. He picked up his things and cleared his throat. "I'll see you back at the dorm."

"Yeah, see you." Kurt said closing his own book. Blaine smiled as Trent passed by but the boy made himself smaller and looked down to the floor. Blaine sighed, wishing he hadn't lost his temper with Trent. It was just too much for him. Seeing Kurt on the couch looking so much like death when he had let another person die not that long ago. Kurt was his best friend and more—to be honest, he didn't know what he felt for Kurt entirely. He just knew it wasn't platonic judging by the dreams he like to have. It seemed like there was a glass wall between them—he could see Kurt but he had no idea how to get to Kurt.

Until he realized the thing they shared in common outside of their powers—music. "So can I beg for your help?"

"Maybe if you get down on your knees." Kurt teased. Blaine knew Kurt meant it to be a joke but it sent a shiver down Blaine's spine. He sheltered it with a roll of his shoulders. "What do you need?"

"I need a little more practice with _Baby it's Cold Outside_. Katherine and I don't get to practice much outside of the designated time and I feel a like my performance is lacking."

Kurt smiled and stood up from the chair. "Old classic. Suppose you want me to play the mouse?"

"It's Katherine's part." Blaine says without adding that Kurt was the only one with the range to play the mouse.

Kurt shrugged; seeming as though he didn't mind. Blaine smiled and flicked his hand to the fireplace. A fire sparked and roared up much to Kurt's amusement. "Showing off our we."

Blaine rubbed his hands together and walked over to the c.d. player they kept in the common area. He placed a c.d. inside and hit play. "Just…setting the mood."

Kurt's laughter was accompanied by the introduction of _Baby it's Cold Outside_. Kurt bounced on the heels of his feet as Blaine took a quick spin.

Blaine always liked singing with girls more than guys. The only reason being he liked the harmonies the two voices could create together and most men simply couldn't create that harmony. That was until Kurt sang with him. Kurt's voice laced with his like a needle and thread. He each note follow the other; dancing just like he and Kurt were now.

His mother had told him about the moment she met his father. The way the mind told her what she already knew—they were soul mates. How while she didn't know him, it felt like they knew each other better than any other person ever could. He couldn't understand how his emotionless, cold father could inspire such feelings but he could understand the appeal. Now that he had met Kurt he realized it wasn't just some hokey thing his mom had come up with—it was true. He felt like he had known Kurt from the moment he took his first breath. He knew what Kurt would become and knew he'd always…

Love him? No, that was much too soon. But those were the feelings Blaine was describing wasn't it?

Before he knew it, the song had ended with them sitting on the couch, looking each other in the eyes and singing. . _"But baby, it's cold outside!"_

The smile fell from Kurt's face as he looked into Blaine's eyes. Blaine started to lean forward to kiss (hardly unusual by this point) when someone cleared their throat. Blaine and Kurt both looked up and Kurt stood immediately, blushing. "Dad, I realize it takes the surprise out of the visit but a phone call would have been nice." Burt Hummel, it must have been, gave Blaine a harsh look that made him cower to the far end of the couch. He hadn't known that Kurt's father would be this big. Or scary. Or look this republican all-around man's man. From what Kurt had told him, his father was extremely accepting of Kurt and his sexuality. Was sometimes his greatest ally in an otherwise messed up world. So naturally, the man Blaine expected Burt to be was not the man standing in front of him. It was ironic because his father, the bleeding-heart lawyer who enjoyed art and music, was the one who had a problem with Blaine's sexuality. It seemed Burt only had a problem with Blaine. "Yeah well, I came to talk to you about something…but it looks like I have a few different things to talk about now."

Kurt followed his father's gaze onto Blaine and waved his hand. "Oh dad, that's just Blaine. Blaine this my dad, Burt Hummel."

Blaine forced himself to rise despite the glare-waves in his direction. He straightened himself out and reached his hand out towards Burt. "A pleasure to meet you sir."

Burt grasped his hand and squeezed. Any tighter and Blaine felt blood might spurt out from under his nails. He fought against the instinctual thought to scold him back. Considering Kurt's history with crushes and their ability to hurt him (paired with the fact that Kurt was technically speaking an only child) he couldn't really blame Burt for being overprotective. "Nice to meet you, but if you don't mind I have to talk to my son."

Blaine pulled his grasp out of Burt's hold and shook it. "Of course, no problem…Thanks for helping me rehearse Kurt." Blaine wanted to scurry out the door but didn't want the moment to be ruined entirely. "Oh and by the way…" Kurt glanced up at Burt with a tired expression. Blaine was guessing Kurt already knew what Burt wanted to talk to him about. "I would much rather be singing with you than a girl." He just managed to catch the sparkle in Kurt's eyes before Blaine wondered as far away as possible from the little father-son moment.

Gratitude and jealousy was an odd mix of emotions to feel but there you have it.

()

"So when did that happen?" Burt said pointing after him. Kurt sat back down on the couch and rolled his eyes.

"What on earth are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about last time we spoke, you said Blaine was a friend. Now I come in here and you two look like you're about to do something…not friend-like. Are you dating him Kurt?"

Kurt threw his head back at the blatant look of hurt in his father's eyes. "No."

"You're not hiding it from me?"

"Dad, I would never…"

"Don't say that because I know that's a lie. Unless you want to tell me why I had to find out from Finn that you passed out at Sectionals?" Oh. That. Damn Finn! He and Rachel were a match made in heaven! Kurt knew he wasn't being fair. Finn had kept his secret for a really long time and really, he should have told his father. So many things had happened because he passed out that he honestly forgot to tell his dad and Carole. Finn saw him up and about at Sectionals but they had been ushered on the buses before Kurt could calm his stepbrother.

Kurt didn't really know what to say. He was paralyzed by the hurt in his father's eyes. "I just…I didn't think to…"

Burt sighed and rubbed a hand over his face, breaking Kurt . "What's been going on with you, Kurt? I thought we were making progress and then all these secrets come out. You don't tell me about the bullying until you have to switch schools, I haven't heard much from you since you came here, and god knows what's going on between you and that Blaine kid." Burt notices the watering in Kurt's eyes and sighs again. "It feels like there's been a distance between us lately. Like you're living on a different planet and I don't know what to do."

Kurt couldn't deny that a distance had been built between him and his father. Come to think of it, Kurt noticed himself being distanced from humans in general. Sure, there were humans at Dalton but he didn't hang out with them. His social life consisted almost entirely of superhumans now.

He certainly couldn't tell his father that. He watched the distance grow even as Burt took a seat on that very couch. A foot apart—might has well been miles. "Dad, I don't know what to tell you. I can't tell you anything right now because…because it's complicated, okay? I promise the minute I can, I will. I want to tell you but I can't."

Burt's eyes narrowed. "Are you getting bullied here again?"

"No."

"What about that Blaine kid? He's not…doing stuff to you and telling you to keep it quiet is he?"

This time, Kurt buried his face in his hands and groaned. His face turned blushing red in seconds. "Dad! No!"

"Cause I was a boy too and I know it might be a lot to fight urges."

"We're not talking about this! Blaine and I are just friends!" Burt's mouth tugged at the corners and Kurt couldn't help but pull his hands away from his face and smile just a bit. In a much quieter voice he continued. "But on the upside, I'm in love with him and he's actually gay. I call that progress."

Burt reached a hand over and grasped his shoulder, shaking it gently. "So, is this all teenage stuff going on then?"

Well, close enough. "Yeah Dad…"

Burt shrugged. "Well…I guess I didn't tell my pop everything either when I was your age. Just don't make yourself a stranger Kurt. I love you no matter what, you know that right?" Kurt nodded. "Good. And if you pass out or anything like that you or someone else better damn well tell me, okay? I almost had another heart attack."

Kurt put his hand over his father's hand. Miles away, and his father still found a way to be there for him. "I'm sorry… I swear next time I pass out, someone will let you know."

"Yeah, yeah…Next time I'll be at your concert so I won't give you the chance to lie." Burt joked, wrapping his other arm around Kurt and giving him a reassuring hug. Burt then whispered to his son. "Talk about his eyes."

"What?"

Burt pulled away and chuckled. "You want to be with Blaine, right? Talk about his eyes, that's how I got your mom."

Kurt laughed and shook his head. "Okay dad."

()()()()()()()

Shelby had an odd sort of power all her life. Her grandmother, her great-grandmother, they all did. It skipped a generation because her grandmother had married a human but it passed right along to Shelby anyway. She knew that like immortality, her abilities were incredibly rare and at times fabled.

Shelby could determine destiny. Most of it came through auras and intuition. Shelby could see energy based on coloring. The brighter the color was the more pure that person was. The darker, the less pure that person was.

She also knew how long a person was expected to live. In her eyes people who were farther from death were much more beautiful and healthy looking. People who were closer to death looked sick and aged. That may have seemed obvious but Shelby had once met a 12 year who looked so sick and had so many elderly features it was no surprise when she died the next week. Sometimes things like that were hard to deal with. However, the worst instances was when she knew someone, saw how good they looked, and suddenly their appearance took a turn for the worse. That was because even destiny wasn't set. Anything could change a person's path: choices, coincidence, making accidental steps. One minute, you could have your entire life ahead of you, the next you could be on death's door. Shelby's only saving grace was that Carl's life had turned before she saw him again—she remembered him well and not at all haunted by what her powers could see.

Shelby saw these auras as she walked into GAIA. She didn't make a habit of showing up at GAIA since she was technically suppose to be in hiding. However, upon learning about the boy named Kurt Hummel, she had decided to dig into her old files on her old friend.

Elizabeth when they had first met was known as Ms. Anne Elizabeth Morgan. Their father had asked her to come teach Shelby how to use her powers since her grandmother (also a friend of Elizabeth's) had passed on and Shelby's own mother had been a human. As a child and teen, Shelby had come to view Anne as a mother-figure and as an adult Elizabeth as she became known as, became a good friend to her. A confident in every hour of need. Someone who had held her when her father died and a person to vent her frustrations to when her brother travelled down ill-advised paths. So while Shelby hadn't completely agreed with Elizabeth's decision to give up her immortality to marry a human, she had listened as Elizabeth reasoned with her.

()()()()()()()

"_175 years. That's if you're honest about how old you are." Shelby said as they walked through the park. The woman walking next to her smiled with good humor. Elizabeth in all the time she had known her had been incredibly beautiful. Large, diamond like eyes. Rustic-red hair. Big, pouty lips that fit unexplainably on her sharp face. Her pale skin would have looked deadly on anyone else, but had always made her look like an angel—it made sense since most immortals were regarded as such in the old legends. It was ironic as well, because her aura was dark crimson red. The color just above black, which meant total soul-corruption. By all means, Elizabeth should have been taken as a very dangerous and serious threat if Shelby didn't know her so well. Today however, lines had started to form under her eyes, her movement less graceful as her skin started to form small imperfections. That was the primary world—imperfection. Elizabeth's appearance had always been absolute perfection, which meant her decision was made. As far as destiny was concerned, her life now had a limit. "You've met a lot of men in that time."_

"_I suppose I have." Elizabeth teased in her high voice, missing every trace of it's original accent. Her gloved—always-gloved—hands were placed in front of her as they walked. Heel clicking behind heel. "Are you saying I should follow your brother's lead and take multiple lovers?"_

"_Don't be silly, Liz. I'm just curious as to what makes this human so special that he not only saved himself from being prey, but somehow convinced you to give up your life for him."_

_Elizabeth shook her head. "Sometimes I forget how young you still are." _

_Shelby laughed. "I'll try not to take that as an insult, Old Woman." Elizabeth gasped and gently pushed Shelby nearly off her heels. The younger woman laughed. "No really, I'm dying to know. Why Burt Hummel?"_

_Elizabeth stopped and considered. She did so very often. Elizabeth was so old and had so much knowledge sometimes she wondered if it was even worth explaining her decisions to people. Shelby tried not to take it personally, but she hated the idea of her closest and dearest friend keeping things from her. "Do you remember what color his aura had been when you met him?"_

"_Of course…gold. Pure gold. I had never someone with a completely pure spirit, even Carl was only ever light blue…So it's the good you're drawn to?"_

_Elizabeth hummed. "Mostly yes. Not quite though. I remember the night I met him…" Shelby rolled her eyes. She had only heard this story a thousand times. Elizabeth snorted. "Sorry, do you intend to be difficult this entire meeting?"_

"_I feel like it'd be too sentimental if I wasn't."_

"_The night I met him…" Elizabeth continued, wrapping her coat more around herself. "I was on the side of the road with 'car troubles'…one of my favorite trumps, naturally. It just works so well. I waited until a car pulled over to the side of the road and he stepped out of his car. He looked like any of my other men—large and menacing. Probably someone who drank away his or her paycheck while sitting so high on his pedestal. Someone who wouldn't make any real impact on the world and probably only stopped to take advantage of me."_

_They passed by a bond now, their reflections following them in the water. Shelby looked with mild interest as she listened. "Instead…he was the complete opposite of what I expected. Said he ran a garage and could look at my car. Showed me little tricks to fix it up. Asked about me. Who I was. Where I was going. For once, I talked with someone with judging them and I felt as though I had met someone who wasn't just about himself. I had met someone who was aware that other people existed and wanted to help them. I had so many opportunities to finish him and I just couldn't… I could have grabbed his hand when he wrote down his number in case I broke down again and he would have been gone." Shelby looked back to Elizabeth as she lifted one gloved hand. "And I couldn't because he had charmed me…. The most human man I had ever met charmed __**me**__ out of taking him. I didn't understand it so I called him with some other made up problem, then another, and it kept going until I didn't need excuses to see him because I had fallen in love with him."_

_Elizabeth lowered her hand and instead reached out for Shelby's. Shelby tensed but grabbed it back. She never got over the fact that if that thin piece of leather wasn't between them, Shelby could lose her energy and it would feed Elizabeth's immortality. After so many years, Elizabeth could control it but the fact that any moment, she could kill Shelby still chilled her to no end. Even if she knew Elizabeth would never cause her any harm. "Living so long is one thing but actually living a life? That appeals to me more than anything. It gets so tiring. Feeling so out of place from this world. Feeding like a parasite and giving nothing in return. Burt can give that to me. I can give him my entire life and he'll give me his. We'll grow old constantly providing for each other and when our time is up…we'll be together in that world too. Isn't that what anyone wants? Isn't that what you want from Carl?" _

_Shelby squeezed her hand softly. Yes, she could certainly understand that and maybe after so long, living would become tedious. Maybe she could understand Elizabeth seeking meaning in this human. Her sacrifice was so huge and because she was rendering herself weak, many would come after her power. After all, she couldn't give up her powers entirely. She could stop taking energy and that would allow her own to eventually run out and die. However, the process of disempowerment would kill her on the spot because while many called her immortal—since she needed energy to live she was technically an absorber. _

_She would not only have to give up her immortality—she had give up the life she had built before her. Go into hiding and hope no other absorber found her. "I've put my support behind Andre to become the new head of this section of GAIA. His first order of business is to transfer the entire system to computer—it was heading in that direction anyway. Before then, I will be officially disempowered and gone. The disempowerments, since they really don't bare much relevance in current affairs, will not be added into the system, there for, I won't be added to the system. I can disappear and not fear for my safety." _

_Shelby smiled though no humor aided it. "But Andre and I will never see you again…"_

_Elizabeth winced. "That had crossed my mind and I will do everything in my power to stay in contact with you. At the same time you must understand…"_

"_I do." Shelby said, turning to face her friend with a sad smile. Elizabeth looked at her with wide, confused eyes. "You're starting to wrinkle. Your hair isn't as shiny. You've aged already. It seems you've made your choice already…Seems fairly pointless for me to try and talk you out of it. I only hope you're more certain of this than I am."_

_Shelby hugged her then, arms wrapped around her like she had when she was a child. Elizabeth was still at first and then wrapped her arms around Shelby. Her voice choked when she answered. "I am certain. My heart, my soul, and my life now belong to Burt. He is my destiny now."_

()()()()()()()

Shelby picked through the old filing cabinet in her brother's office. God knew where Andre was but the silence was actually somewhat calm. Shelby picked up the envelope—bent and folded from so many years of abuse. She sat down in her brother's office chair and pulled out the letter. Falling along with it was 2 inch lock of rustic red hair. Just plain hair now. No meaning or symbol. Yet seeing it made Shelby want to cry.

()()()()()()()

_Shelby held the letter in her hand. It had been 7 years since she had given up her daughter for adoption, a tiny bit longer than that since Carl had been killed, and even longer than that since she's seen the person from whom the letter was from. She gasped when she saw the name Anne Morgan written in perfect script writing. With shaky hands, Shelby tore the envelope open and pulled out the letter, barely managing to flick it open so she could read it._

_**Shelby, **_

_**I'm sorry I have not been able to write you. Word had gotten back to me about Carl's unfortunate death. I will be shocked if you even read this to be quite honest; Carl had died for me and it is a debt I will never be able to repay to you or him. It never should have happened and he is always on my mind. Lately, I've had dreams in which I am sitting in his office chair and having my teeth done by him and he's talking about you. Nothing so deep—just about you. I've taken these dreams to mean that even in death, he worries and thinks of you. I want to tell him you're okay and getting along, but I cannot be certain which only builds to my guilt. I hope one day you can forgive me.**_

_**Since his death, I have not wanted to risk putting your life in danger. Now I find that I have no choice but to risk writing to you and can only hope that by sending this letter through a string of friends, it will not be intercepted. Since my departure, I have married Burt and we live in a small town. Not long after Carl's death, I gave birth to a baby boy we named Kurt. When I told you before that my life belonged to Burt—it's no longer true. We've given our entire beings to this child for good reason! Kurt is a joy. So full of life and wisdom at such a young age. He has Burt's good-hearted nature and my stubborn-streak. His eyes but my features. He's beautiful but I am still uncertain as to whether or not he is in fact an immortal too. Because of the circumstances around my disempowerment, I constantly argue with myself as when and if I will tell him. To keep Burt safe, I have kept in the dark but even knowing this, I live with the guilt of my husband never knowing the truth. If we're lucky, Kurt will be a human and all four of us—Myself, Burt, Kurt and this secret can live and die together in harmony. **_

_**After all you have given up and the loss of Carl's life, I would not dare to ask anything of you if not for Kurt. For myself, I would rather die than allow you to risk your life again for me and I would deserve it if you turned me down. Kurt however, is just a child. My child. I would die for him in an instant so needless to say; I can swallow my pride and my dignity for him too. Recently, I've found myself developing these grave illusions in my head. Without explanation, I've found myself looking over my shoulder and checking every corner. I thought I was being paranoid. However, when I'm not dreaming of Carl, I find myself looking in a mirror and seeing my reflection. Only the image looking back is not my own but rather—that of a graying, old woman. A woman who grows older and older until the mirror breaks and my blood flashes along the shards. My intuition is speaking to me and it is telling me something that I have feared since going into hiding.**_

_**I am weak now. I haven't taken energy from a human in very nearly a decade and I now stand to lose more than I ever did before. My family could become potential targets and I fear these dreams are telling me that I may not be around much longer to protect them. When I gave up my immortality, I had always thought it meant that I would grow old and die with Burt; I never once considered that my life could well before his. Perhaps I am being paranoid, and I hope to god or whatever exists that I am, but I do believe someone has decided to come after me. This quite possibly has set my final fate into stone or at least, put it on that path. There for I must ask that if I am in fact destined to die soon that you and Andre assure my son's protection. I realize I have no right to ask this of you but don't do it for me. I would never ask you to do it for me. I ask that you do it for my son. That you do it so Carl's death will not be in vain. If it is within my power, I will stop this person and they will pay for what they did to Carl. If I can't, then please keep my baby from meeting a similar demise.**_

_**In case you too believe I am paranoid, I've enclosed a lock of my hair. You will see it and know if I am right or wrong. Whatever the answer is and whatever choice you make, please know that I love you and Andre. **_

_**Love, **_

_**Liz**_

_Shelby reached into the envelope and pulled out the locks of hair she had spoken of. She gasped and fought to keep a hold on it. Elizabeth's hair had always been red. This time, while the aura was a much lighter red, the locks were not. No, they were grey and frail in her fingers. The hair of a woman who showed every bit of her over-hundred years. _

_It confirmed her worst fears in the letter. Elizabeth didn't have much longer to live. Someone was coming after her and she was in grave danger. Shelby clutched the locks between her fingers. Her own destiny set in her mind. Carl's death would not be in vain—and nor would Elizabeth's._

()()()()()()()

"Andre, you had no right to—" Shelby's head snapped up quickly as a small woman entered his office. Her words trailed off as soon as she turned around after shutting the door. The woman's aura was a very dark green—she was for the most part good, though she had her share of awful moments. Her hair must have been dark, but was now lined with many, many shades of grey. Her face wrinkled in many different parts as her hands shook. If this woman was not elderly, she didn't have long to live either. "Oh, I'm sorry…I didn't realize he had someone waiting."

Nor did she know that she was Andre's sister. Which was well, not surprising since Shelby had spent so much time in hiding. Shelby waved it off, frankly uncomfortable to having someone so close to death near her. Especially since she was likely one of his conquests. "No, it's fine. I think he'll be back in a little while if you want to try then."

The woman nodded and was about to leave. She turned back and gave the woman a serious look. "Look, far be it from me to get into your personal business and I don't know how far Andre's gone with you or what he's told you…" Shelby almost wanted to laugh. Now she though Shelby was a conquest. If only she knew. "But it's a lie. That man will use you and leave you before you even realize what's going on. I know from personal experience—it's just trouble and heartache and he doesn't care."

Shelby raised an eyebrow but didn't really comment. Sure, she use to defend Andre but really, the only reason the idea seemed so ridiculous was because she was his sister. She honestly couldn't blame (and maybe she admired her for it) this woman for trying to warn her. At the same time, she couldn't help the instinct in her body to tell this woman that yes, her brother wasn't perfect. Yes, he made terrible, inexcusable decisions, but it didn't mean that Andre didn't care about anything. He had done so much to help her in her life and he had done everything he could to help Elizabeth.

But explaining that to a dying woman? It seemed futile. "Okay. Thank you." The woman pierced her lip but turned around. Hand reaching for the door. Shelby happened to look up and catch her reflection in the glass She bit down on her lip to stop the gasp from escaping.

Mirrors, pictures, and reflections were the only times Shelby could see a person pure and true vision. In the glass, she saw the long, black curls, and deep green eyes. She wasn't exactly a young woman—late 40's to early 50's, but there was no sign of grey there or wrinkles in her face. What shocked Shelby most of all was the fact she knew this woman. From pictures and Andre's descriptions, she knew who this woman was. She was the love of her brother's life. The mother of his son.

Robin Anderson walked out the door—one step closer to the death that wasn't far away.

**And new chapter! Only 3 away from 20 too! Seems crazy because we're still pretty far away from the end. So much more I wanted to write in this chapter but ugh, had to get in a little bit of Shelby and Elizabeth's back story. So next chapter, Robin knowing that Finn knowing about Kurt will be addressed. We'll have Rachel Berry's train wreck extravaganza, and more! (hopefully). Of course, I strayed a bit away from cannon with Baby, it's Cold Outside but Burt and Kurt needed a good father-son moment. Got to fit in one of my favorite cannon lines though! **

**Thank you as always to my lovely readers for reviewing, following, favorited, or just reading this story! And for you know, putting up with all my craziness :)**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Yes, it's never a dull day in The Rising Sun world—if somebody isn't finding out they have powers or keeping secrets, then someone is a secret sibling to another character :) Hope you enjoy the update! Thank you for reviewing. **

**miss jayne76- Ah yes, definitely my evil plan! (Insert evil laugh here). Though I think I revealed more in that chapter, I did do something bad and reveal another secret here (about Robin having a short lifespan…probably) but I also reveal some stuff…maybe not all you wanted to know. Though I will say you are onto something ;) (can't say too much but it's in the parenthesis of your review, hint hint). Yes, it seems I can't decide if Andre is an asshole or not but as for the rest, you'll have to wait for to cure your readers frustration :) Until then, thank you for reviewing and enjoy the new chapter!**

**ToniBalogna978- So it has :) Yeah, I know, very mean to Trent – but he is helping me reveal more about Kurt. Plus, if I get my way, we'll be getting more of him very soon! Thank you for reviewing. Hope you like the update!**

**msdarque- Thank you very much. Yeah, I know—in my head I keep thinking "Okay, just how likely is all of this to happen?". I think I try to justify it by saying it likes a soap opera. Believe it or not, my suspension doesn't stop at the powers or even the newest revelations but rather, that Blaine and Santana are half-siblings, lol. Either way, hope you continue to enjoy it! Thank you for the review!**

**LeBeauAJ- Oh good and good! At least I'm not keeping you up all the time (though I think I need to improve my update time). I can understand getting carried away in reading fanfiction—has happened to me way too many times. Thank you for the review and hope you enjoy the new chapter (no matter what time you read it). **

**Guest- Thank you so much! Hope it continues to please :) Thanks for the review!**

**Snarfin- Oh wow! Don't worry about it, I love me some reviews :) Very glad you enjoy the story so far. And of course thank you for saying you like my Finn (I always love protective big brother Finn). Yes, again I can't really decide if Andre is really an asshole or not but we all know that one person in our lives. Thank you for saying you like Blaine's mom! Always hard when dealing with an OC but she's become way more important in this story than I ever imagined. I honestly didn't think I'd use her much beyond chapter 1 but she's certainly gotten her fair share of story. Hope you enjoy the update and thank you for all the reviews!**


	18. Chapter 18

**Just a cautionary pre-note to this very long chapter—**_**lots **_**of drinking, there fore situations in which teenagers are drinking and a lot more cursing than I usually write (see teen drinking). Okay, happy reading!**

Tatiana sat at the bar, nursing a drink and texting on her phone to Dustin. Apparently, he, Jesse, and Sunshine were still working on choreography for Regional's. She rolled her eyes. The sooner they could get to more important things—the better. Like how they intended to take down GAIA.

She first met Dustin at a resistance group meeting. They talked for hours about how the government was oppressing the people and how they didn't understand why superhumans should have to hide themselves when the humans were the ones who would pass judgment. His comes on's were obvious, his smugness sensible from miles away, but his passion was addicting. She could tell he was ruthless which should have frightened her but really made him all the more attractive. There was something very compelling about man who does whatever it takes to get what he wants. That was why she had said yes when he proposed. That's why she waited patiently on the sidelines and waited for their uprising to start.

Still, she got in way more drinking than she ever imagined. She finished off her glass, fully intending to go outside and have a cigarette when a man sat in the bar stool beside her. "What's the rush? It's pretty cold outside." Tatiana flicked her head and saw Cooper Anderson leaning over the bar, a smug smile on his face.

"Do you ever go home?"

Cooper shrugged. "I like to go where the wind blows. You know, real bohemian and that sappy shit...Well, actually, I decided to just stay through Christmas, My mom's been begging me for years." Cooper raised his hand to get the bartenders attention. "I'll have a beer and whatever the lady is having."

"Actually, I was about…" But Cooper waved her off.

"Nonsense, sit down and have a drink with me. It can still be fun even we can legally do it now." Tatiana chuckles and considers. Really, she's pining for that cigarette. That and maybe it's not the best idea to sit next to the boy you use to make-out with in High School; who turned out to be a handsome actor. Tatiana sighed and sat back down on the bar. Cooper smiled. "Didn't even have to compulse you."

"If you even tried, I'd kick you in the balls." Tatiana chuckled as the drinks came up. "So, was your brother ecstatic about his win?"

"There was a bit of commotion back stage. Crazy stuff. He's in love with one of the other Warblers but that poor kid barely knows anything about himself; never mind if he wants to be with Blaine. Blaine isn't exactly great at knowing what he wants either."

"Give the kid a break. We were like that once, weren't we? Maybe some of us a little more lost than others." Tatiana says, taking a long sip of her drink. She'd be the first to admit her upbringing wasn't ideal. For the first 8 or 9 years, it seemed relatively normal. Two overbearing but loving parents. She went to school every day and was excited to receive her powers. Then the divorce happened—her already distant mother became colder, her father became near non-existent, and well, her whole soul felt a little darker. It was also around that time she had lost her uncle Carl and her aunt Shelby went away—the only stable influences in her life since the divorce.

The hardest part? Knowing things were never perfect. Realizing that you just had your eyes closed until you were forced to open them. Cooper must find the whole feel of the situation awkward but he doesn't let it show. "I know Blaine and I aren't quite as close as brothers should be, but I still worry about the squirt, you know?"

"Not really. Every time I'm around my brother and sister, I just get angry all over again." Tatiana shook her head. "I don't even want to talk about it…I want to talk about you."

Cooper smiles. "My favorite subject. What do you want to talk about?"

Tatiana bites her lip. The personable side of her knows that it's horrible she's even curious about this. The other part, the morbidly uncaring part of her, just wants to know. "Tell me about this human you almost married."

Cooper loses quite a bit of his luster. In mere seconds a man who was on top of the world seemed to be all but there. She actually feels bad for asking but she knows how he is. He may be smug or arrogant but he finds it difficult to say no to people—especially a pretty girl/old friend. "Her name was Chelsea. Cute girl—kind of tall, a honey brunette. She loved to bake. Whenever I went on a call back, she'd bake cookies or cupcakes to snack on while I waited. I shared with a director once and no joke, he offered me the job on the spot." The duo chuckle softly. "She could sing too—don't get me wrong, she wasn't Celine Dion or anything, but she did good enough. She had great body language. We had a karaoke machine and we'd just spend hours singing together."

"When I proposed, I baked a cake in our kitchen. Thing looked like shit—I didn't let the cake cool enough so it broke apart in the frosting. And the chocolate chips I added? They melted to the fucking bottom. Thing was, she didn't care. The moment she saw the ring on top, it was like all she could say was yes and I didn't care either. I was marrying the woman of dreams, who cares if the cake was ruined?" Cooper's finger trails around the outside of his beer bottle before he picks it up and takes a long drink out of it. Tatiana feels her stomach twist in different directions. She's touched that someone as self-centered as Cooper could do something so sweet (no pun intended). On the other hand, she and Dustin had only discussed getting married before she was 'engaged'. "Funny thing about dreams, you wake up… it happened when two GAIA employees came to visit our house…They had forced us to go to headquarters and we couldn't see each other. I just thought it was for questioning you know, since we filed. I told her on the car ride over it'd be okay. Only, when they started questioning me about how long she knew…I knew it wasn't. So I told them the truth hoping maybe we'd get a slap on the wrist or something. Two hours later, they come back and – " Cooper swallows another gulp of beer and slams it down. "And told me that her memories had been manipulated. She wouldn't remember me and I had to stay away from her because I had broken rules. We couldn't be trusted, and if I didn't listen, the punishment could be severe…for both of us."

Tatiana feels a fraction of the pain he must of felt. She can't imagine taking on the whole thing. She imagines it feels fairly similar to what she felt during her parents divorce. Cooper forced himself to smile. "I facebook-stalked her a while ago…She just got engaged again. Seems like the nicest guy I'll ever hate… My parents of course, think I've mourned over it long enough but hell, it's my life, shouldn't I be able to throw myself a pity party if I want?"

Tatiana smiles back just a bit. A subject she's all too familiar with. "Yeah, the thing about parents is they expect to be perfect—even if they're not."

"That's the thing though, in the grand scheme of things, they are. My mom got to marry her human—she got the kids, she got the job—do they fight? Sure, but you know what? At least they get a chance to work it out. Chelsea and I didn't get that."

Does he not know?... Tatiana shakes her head. He must. She thinks about asking when Cooper raises his hand signaling for two shots. "You know what… I don't want to talk about it anymore. Let's talk about me again. Mainly, how I just want to get drunk off my ass with an incredibly hot girl."

And maybe she should have just walked away. Maybe part of her did because what she was doing was technically flirting with another man. Well, if Dustin could be distracted with his glee club, she could be distracted with Cooper.

She jostled her hair and gave him a playful wink. "I could get on board with that."

()()()()()()()

Robin approached the garage, her head already thinking of excuses to Burt as to why she could be here. Hoping perhaps because it was after school, she would get Kurt's stepbrother instead. She had to do something about this thing before it got out of hand.

She was lucky because it was apparent Finn, as Kurt had identified him as, was there. She not so lucky because… "Just leave Rachel! I don't have anything left to say to you!"

"But….but…Finn please!" There's a long silence followed by rapid clicking of heels. Robin pulls away from the door just in time for a girl to come running out. Hair flying behind her as sobs escaped from her lips. The girl was too upset to see her (thank god) but Robin wasn't sure if now was a good time to deal with this.

Yet, she had to. The longer she ignored it, the sooner it would become a problem. She opened the door and saw the large young man just as he kicked a stool across the garage. Robin paused. The emotions were over-whelming. All the despair and sadness hit her. So familiar to the hurt and betrayal she had felt with the men in her life. Whatever happened between them, it was obvious he cared and obvious it hurt.

He was so different from Kurt. She knew they were only stepbrothers but to compare them was even difficult to do. He was so big, so awkward and uncoordinated—she could tell by his stance, but also seemed somewhat at peace with his flaws. Working them as if they were as important as his good features. In a strange way, he was a different sort of confident than Kurt was.

Finally his eyes caught on Robin and he jumped. Barely any air off the ground. "Oh sorry, you- you scared me…Um, sorry about that…"

Robin tried to give him a comforting smile, and tilted her head to look him dead in the eye. This would be easier to talk about if he were calm. She pushes little waves of empathy towards him. Easing him towards a more calm state. "Believe it or not, I was young too. I've had my heart broken… I've broken hearts. It's just the cycle of being a teenager I'm afraid."

"Yeah well, try doing that with one person over and over again." Finn says, though his tone and stance is already calmer. Robin doesn't want to overpower him too much. Kurt trusted her quite a bit by allowing her to handle this. She doesn't want to make it seem like she took advantage of that trust in the name of her job.

_No, try doing that with two men who can barely stand you right now._ Robin countered in her brain. Finn looks confused for a spilt second before he takes another look at her. "Wait…you're the woman from sectionals. The one who told me not to say anything about Kurt…" A hint of panic arises before Robin pushes it down again. "Are you... are you doing something to me right now?"

Robin nodded. "Calming you. We need to talk about what you know. As much as I can sympathize with a broken heart, I need you calm for that….You can call me Mrs. Anderson."

"Anderson? Like that kid Kurt's been hanging with?"

One and the same. My son." Robin states. "Do you think you can go over how you found out about Kurt?"

Finn takes a minute to think about it and nods. "If my dad asks though, I was working on your car."

Robin chuckled. "He might believe it."

()()()()()()()

When Kurt opened the door to his dorm room, Trent was inside on his bed, flipping through a book. Kurt felt a pang of guilt that he hadn't stayed behind. Tonight was the big Christmas Spectacular and most of the Warblers had gone to see Blaine perform with Katherine. He tried to get Trent to go but after yesterday when no one at Warbler practice talked to Trent, he didn't exactly feel welcome. It also happened to be the last night before Christmas break and everyone would be going home to their families. Trent would be going home to stay with his maternal grandmother, this time more lonely than all the other times in the past.

Trent took notice and gave him a weak smile. "Hey, how was it?"

Kurt nodded back. "It was good. Blaine was amazing as usual. Katherine was really great too. Just both really good."

"I know, I probably should have gone to be supportive but…"

"I don't blame you…they haven't been very supportive of you lately." Kurt leans against the door and blows a piece of hair out of his face. He and Trent have become friends since the Sebastian incident. Perhaps, even close friends. That relationship is still progressing while he feels like he's at something at a stand still with Blaine. They're still flirting and they're still close but somehow, neither one of them can take that extra leap. Well actually, Kurt knows it's more neither one wants to risk losing everything. Which was great and sweet and what not, except Kurt was balancing nightmares with wet dreams, friendship with desire, and generally speaking, more confusion to his already hectic life.

But how did you confide all of that into someone who has there own set of problems right now? Unlike his other glee members, Kurt's never found it necessary to bother people with his issues when they had stuff of their own to deal with.

Surprisingly though, he doesn't have to. Trent looks at him and just knows. "Things are going the way you want them to with Blaine, are they?"

Kurt chuckled and shook his head. "Story of my life. Sorry. I'm being dramatic. It's just… every relationship I have right now is being tested or is on edge. I thought by now, Blaine and I would be a little further developed but we're still here in the same place we were before and…. well, to be honest, you're the only person I don't feel some sort of distance with. It's just crazy and I—Trent?"

Trent pushes himself off his knees, his face looking away. Kurt's not sure, but he thinks he saw a tear gather at the corner of Trent's eyes. Trent finally laughs and wipes it away before Kurt can see. "It's nothing. It's stupid really. It's just…ugh, when you said that…it was just, I don't know. I know you meant it to be a complaint but hearing you say that and…knowing it's the same way. I just…I've never had that connection with someone before."

And just saying it is enough that Trent is full out crying. Kurt doesn't want to risk passing out again, so he just gets down on his knees in front of Trent. Just being there and touching his bed when he can't touch his hand. Kurt can't blame him. Considering how many of the Warblers have treated him and his powers? Trent must need this now more than ever. "It's the same for me. You have no idea how nice it is to have someone I can talk and have understand...and they actually do. They're not just saying it I mean."

Trent nods and sheds a few more tears. Laughing as he wipes them away. "You know if I could touch you—that and it wasn't so obvious how you feel about Blaine, I could fall in love with you…" Kurt's eyes widened and Trent rolls his eyes. "Sorry, it's pretty obvious I don't have many friends…don't worry Kurt, I have a crush on someone but it's not you…Now, about Blaine…." Trent cleared his throat and shook his remaining tears away. "You two are probably just afraid…Blaine's afraid to let someone in after what happened to Sebastian and you're afraid of getting your heart broken again. It's making you hold back and maybe, you shouldn't do that…. Maybe you should let your fear inspire you."

Kurt raises an eyebrow. "Let my fear inspire me?"

"Yeah, like in fight club. When the adrenaline is high and everything is just on instinct. If you gave into your fear of getting hurt, you'd never be able to attack and your opponent would win. Maybe with Blaine, you just need to let go and follow your guts. Take a chance and see what happens."

"That's…that would be rather hard for me." Kurt admits. And it's true. Ever since his life started this whirlwind, he's been grasping for every little piece of control he can get. Mostly, because he doesn't have much of it left.

That being said, he almost seems to get further along when he gives up control. Like at fight club or when he impulsively does something with Blaine. Trent seems to notice Kurt's inner struggle and leans into his view. "It's scary for everyone. No body wants to fail. The fact is though, when you refuse to fail, you're also refusing to succeed. Sometimes we try to fly and we fall, but we never try, then how the heck are you suppose to fly? How is Blaine suppose to trust you're worth taking a risk for when you won't do it for him?"

Kurt considers what Trent is saying and really, he does make a lot of good points. Perhaps it was time he made the extra step to get Blaine's attention.

()()()()()()()

Finn finishes telling Robin about how he had known about Kurt's powers for over a year now and how he hasn't told anyone about them. Robin sits and considers. It could look very bad for Kurt's record, which she is currently putting into the system, if it's revealed that Finn knows about Kurt. That being said, Floyd would tell her that they could very easily argue that since Kurt didn't know about GAIA and it's rules, he shouldn't be punished for breaking them. However, with the way Andre's been lately, she's not willing to risk bringing Floyd in on this or trust Kurt and Finn's future with him. The best thing to do would we be to document Finn as soon as Kurt is in the system. If Robin can make it so she's handling the paper work, it'll go in faster and people will be less likely to challenge her.

She tells Finn all of this and stills in his seat. "Um, I don't know if Kurt told you this but…I'm not a great liar."

"I don't think Kurt had to tell me that, sweetie…. In this case, it's better you keep if you keep quiet when you can. Treat this like you've treated the secret all along. Don't draw attention to it and don't make a big deal out of it."

Finn nods. "I think I can do that." He says and then looks at Robin in a more nervous way than he has since they started talking. "So, Kurt's really okay right? He's not like dying from some super virus or something."

Robin chuckled and shook her head. "No Finn—Kurt passing out wasn't because of his powers, it was other peoples powers. If you've never been compulsed or empathized before, you tend to get sick…. which you'll find out for yourself soon enough. Then another Warbler touched Kurt with his powers and that's what made him pass out."

"Oh. That's good." Finn just says. She's not sure if it's her empathy making him so compliant or if that's just his personality. He's actually one of the nicer human's she's met. He obviously cares about his brother and he's been fairly open-minded to Robin. It's just the edge of sadness of what happened between him and what was probably his girlfriend.

And as soon as she lifts her spell, the pain is going to come back again. It's too hard on the body for her to keep Finn under a constant spell when really, the best medicine is to move forward. "You two can work it out you know. You and your girlfriend."

Finn tilts his head and then 'ohhh's' when he realizes what she's talking about. The sadness pushes back against the spell but Robin keeps her hold. "No…no, we can't. I did something bad but then did something worse…I lied about being a virgin when we got back together—I wasn't kidding when we said we did this over and over again. We weren't together or anything when I did it but she got really mad and made out with my best friend."

Wow. Okay. That sounded like something that should be on Dawson's Creek or 9120. Robin felt her own stomach twist because while kissing was considered a minor offence in the adult world, in the teenage world, his girlfriend might have slept with his best friend. Now she was stuck somewhere between taking his side against something she had done or defending the girlfriend. She decided to stay neutral. "Well, you know…sometimes things like that can be worked out."

"No, not this time. I've been cheated on before and it just sucks. I don't want to be that guy who sits around like an idiot believing the world of someone and then finding out she's been seeing someone behind my back. It's just not cool." Finn sighed, apparently lost in his own thoughts. If he hadn't been (or maybe he wouldn't have anyway because he seemed fairly oblivious) he might have noticed the wince on Robin's face. "At least this time, the girl had the decency to confess. Last time I almost got stuck raising a kid that wasn't my own…I mean, I was really disappointed when she wasn't mine but... I think of all the people she could have hurt and—"

Dear lord, there is just no way this is happening. No possible way.

Lucky for her, her phone goes off. She springs up. "Well, I better take this and I should be going anyway. Thank you for your time Finn, remember to say quiet, and I'd run for the toilet if I were you!" Robin says so fast Finn doesn't hear half of it. Robin releases her spell and starts to walk for the door. She hears in the background Finn making a gagging noise and shuffling uneasily to the bathroom.

Her caller i.d. has Cooper's face on it. She answers it. "Hey sweetie, what's going on?"

She hears a slow laugh before Cooper whispers something to someone and then returns to the phone. "Hi Mama… Hey Mama can I tell you a secret?" Robin frowns. His words are slurring together as if…

"Cooper, are you drunk?"

"I said let me tell you a secret." He says in a more serious voice. Then laughs again. "GAIA? You know that place? You work there. It's fucking stupid. They're all dicks. My only crime was falling in love with an amazing girl and- and they hated that!"

Robin rolled her eyes and climbed into her car. "Yes Cooper, GAIA hated that you were in love and decided to put a stop to it. That's exactly what happened…Where are you? I'm coming to get you."

()()()()()()()

Cooper hung up his phone just as another round of shots were set down. Tatiana laughed and gave him an uncoordinated slap on the back. "Atta boy."

"You know what, you're right parents…SUCK. Everyone sucks. We should just hang out with each other." Cooper took a saltshaker and start sprinkling it on his wrist. He then offered it to Tatiana who did the same thing.

"Because I don't suck?"

Cooper tilted his head, but the room started to swirl so he blink and corrected. "Well, if you do, at least you have boobs. And a great ass…And a pretty smile."

Tatiana, who was just as drunk, put her hand against her chest in appreciation. "Thank you. That's…sadly the sweetest thing I've heard in awhile."

"Regular Romeo. Right. HERE. Hey, want to see something cool?" Cooper asks. He licks up his arm and then leans down and puts his mouth around the edge of the shot glass, throwing his head up so the drink can slide down his throat. He then drops the glass into his had and shoving a lime wedge into his mouth. Tatiana laughs so hard she starts snorting. "I learned that out in California."

"Very impress—impress-is-ness." Tatiana manages to get out before twirling her hair on her finger. "Do you remember how we snuck you guys into Crawford?"

"I think it involved some drag and a dance number?" Cooper guessed. Tatiana nodded. The girls could get pretty creative about the ways they'd get the booze and boys into Crawford. Even in her drunk state, she could remember how perfectly willing Cooper was to wear a Crawford uniform in the name of partying.

"If it makes you feel any better, you were the hottest girl I had ever seen." Tatiana leaned in, lips just inches apart from Cooper's. He stared at her lips and then up to her eyes. They pulled away at the same time and she giggled nervously. How easy it would have been for her to lean in to finish the kiss. She was drunk though; it wasn't anything other than that. Besides… "It was weird….stuff we did together I mean."

Cooper shrugged. "I didn't think so. Just because we made out and dry humped a few times, doesn't mean we can't be friends."

"I was thinking more the whole thing with your mom and Blaine." Tatiana chuckled. Cooper gave her a confused look. Her mind pulled through the haze and sobered for just a second. "You know…what happened between her and my dad."

Cooper was the one who snorted when he laughed this time. "That was just a rumor. After everything that happened with Maribel… I know you're dad's a bit of an alley cat but my mom…"

"Cooper." Tatiana stated simply, she grabbed her shot glass and pointed her finger at it. A flash of fire shot up and Cooper jumped so far back he actually stumbled out of his stool. Tatiana gave him a sympathetic look. This wasn't something he deserved to find out in a bar with a girl who was engaged to another man.

Then Robin rushed over out of nowhere. "Cooper Floyd! What the hell have you been doing? I think I'm a little too old to be running to bars to get you…Tatiana?"

Tatiana glared at her and picked up her purse. Leaving enough money to pay her bill before standing in front of Robin. "My father's a disgusting man, but at least he was honest about who he was. You're such a disgusting bitch, I could throw up all over you."

Robin was speechless as Tatiana stumbled towards the door. She only pulled away when Cooper groaned. "Mommy…" Robin gives her son a scared look and closes her eyes when he asks. "Is it true?"

()()()()()()()

The next night is Rachel's Train Wreck extravaganza. Blaine drives over to their house before he, Kurt, and Finn pile into the car. Kurt's heard the whole story about how Rachel made-out with Puck after finding out about Finn losing his virginity to Santana. Rachel spilled the entire thing to him last night shortly after Kurt and Trent talked. Kurt finds himself somewhere in the middle. Finn should have been honest and he could see how Rachel could be hurt. On the other hand, what Rachel did was more than just a fling. It was revenge. She intentionally wanted to hurt Finn and that was almost worse than the act itself. Kurt convinces Finn to go with them since all the New Directions will be there and they need an extra-designated driver. However, Finn's convinced he's just going to get some of his stuff and then wait out in the car.

"Finn, it's freezing out here. You don't have to talk to her. If you want, you can just go in and sit upstairs for all we care, but I'm not letting you freeze to death just to piss her off." Kurt says from the backseat. Since Blaine is his guest, he's allowed him the front seat and Blaine's is out of uniform again. This time a burgundy-stripe with white shirt, a close to matching burgundy sweater, and dark jeans with loafers (but no socks—Blaine must have a vendetta against them or something). Kurt's not sure if Blaine knows what style he's going for. Sometimes, he dresses very dapper and retro, other times, he reminds Kurt more of a hipster of bohemian. Kurt's concluded that he's probably going for a Vampire Weekend-esque feel.

"You know, if you really want to get back at her. You'll go in and drink until you puke…preferably on her clothes from what I hear from Kurt." Blaine throws in. Kurt leans forward and shushes him, mouthing 'designated driver'. Blaine laughs and nods. Truthfully, Kurt doesn't plan on getting too drunk. Tonight is the night he's going to make his move on Blaine. He was tired of playing; it was time to get real

Finn sighed and shook his head. "God it's going to be hard seeing her. I should have just stayed at home."

"Finn—you can do this, okay? Whether you and Rachel are done for real or not, you have to face her."

And Kurt had to know. Know if this thing with Blaine was real or not.

()()()()()()()

The party quickly progresses from mild to where-are-my-pants fairly quickly. Literally. Kurt watched as Puck and Brittany both drunkenly looked for their pants before giving up and grabbing another drink. Mercedes and Tina can't stop laughing in the corner and at some point come to tell him a joke that made no sense. Rachel gets drunk just at the sight of Finn, which actually makes her more enjoyable to be around. Quinn and Santana are crying on each other's shoulders over well, anything and everything. Kurt sees this play out and is fine with just getting buzzed. Although Artie just swung by and put a drink in his hand before grabbing aforementioned pant-less Brittany and giving her a ride in his lap. Sam may have just come out Rachel's bedroom with a sheet toga on…and very clearly nothing else underneath.

And Blaine? Blaine's fitting right in. He's been dancing to the same Ke$ha for 15 minutes because he keeps saying 'Oh wait! One more time!' and replaying it. Finn's even managed to relax as he sits down next to Kurt. "I thought you weren't going to drink a lot because you wanted to tell Blaine something?"

Kurt looks down at the cup Artie gave him. "I wasn't. Artie gave this to me…He doesn't seem to have the same concern." Kurt wants to be annoyed, but he can't when Blaine walks over and just flings himself across Finn and Kurt's laps.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Blaine nuzzles into Kurt's lap and looks up at Finn. "Dude, Finn…It is just soooo cool that you and Kurt are brothers…You're just so tall. Wish my brother was tall…could hoist me on his shoulders."

Kurt pats Blaine's head and chuckles. "Having fun?"

"Fuck yeah! Best party ever!" Then Blaine's up again when he sees Mike dancing in the corner. Finn and Kurt can't help but laugh.

"What in the world do I see in him?"

"He's a good guy. He cares about you. His mom does too." Kurt nodded. He knew Robin would be going to talk to Finn. From what he understood, everything went well and if they were cautious, it shouldn't be a problem. "And you know…he's like you too."

Kurt pauses. "That shouldn't matter."

"I think it helps for you." Finn says, and Kurt's wondering if Finn is insulting him or not. "I mean, yeah it shouldn't matter if someone is human or superhuman or…robot or whatever. But you didn't really know anything about yourself until you met him. Now, you're learning things, so that's good isn't it?"

Yeah, he supposes he has learned quite a bit since Blaine has taken him under his wing. But the fact that Blaine sees himself as a mentor is part of the reason it's so hard for them to just get together. "Take it from someone who's oblivious…Sometimes you don't see what's right in front of you until they're about to walk out the door. Blaine will notice you, Kurt…"

Kurt sets his drink on the corner table and smirks. "Damn right he will." He pushes himself off and then strolls over to where Blaine is and Mike is. They look ridiculous with their uncoordinated dancing but Kurt just spins right in and gets applause for it from the boys.

Soon, it's just him and Blaine—the party is starting to die down and Kurt decides if he's going to do it, it's now or never. "Blaine, can we go somewhere more private?"

Blaine pulls away and blinks up. "Yeah, totally." Kurt ends up dragging him upstairs and into the vacated den where the Berry's review Rachel's performance tapes and comment on them. Kurt unfortunately, had to sit through one of those and the only thing more annoying than Mr. and Mr. Berry's criticism of Rachel's performance was the way she'd just agree. Kurt fully intends to just sit and talk at first but Blaine sits down pulls Kurt into his lap.

"Oh okay…" Kurt says, trying to settle in but can't. Blaine's arms are wrapping around his waist and Blaine is settling his chin on Kurt's shoulder. It's just him being drunk and clingy, so Kurt tries to continue. "Blaine…I really like you."

"I know…I really like you too." And then oh god, Blaine starts sucking on Kurt's neck. Kurt squeaks and pushes him back. Blaine just looks confused as Kurt crawls to the other side of the couch. "Kurt? What's wrong?"

Kurt hates how adorably upset he sounds. He really should have done this while Blaine was sober but he just didn't expect Blaine to get so shit-faced drunk. "My problem is that we have no idea what to do with that. Blaine, I'm getting sick of just being all over each other all the time and then calling ourselves best friends. I want more than that and you do too."

Blaine tries to crawl closer. "Of course I do…Kurt, I love you."

Similar in the way that Kurt should have been annoyed earlier but wasn't, Kurt should have been calm about hearing that, but felt his heart sink. It was too early to be love. They weren't even boyfriends yet so Blaine couldn't possibly love him. And okay—Blaine was drunk. Blaine didn't have control over what he said. That was what was so upsetting about it. His future with his mom and all the information about his heritage? Both taken from him. His first kiss? Stolen from his bully. Now the first time he'd ever hear someone say they loved him? The boy was drunk when he said it.

It was like seeing a side of Blaine Kurt never wanted to know about. It upset him more than he thought it would. "No you don't…You're drunk." He rationalized.

"I am, but it's true…"

"No it's not Blaine! You're drunk!"

Kurt jumped up from the couch and looked at Blaine. Blaine was actually starting to look aggravated. "Why are you yelling at me?"

"Because you're drunk!" Kurt repeated. Tears forming at his eyes_. Dear god, don't cry over this too_. "Because I was going to tell you everything tonight! I was finally going to get this worked out and we were going to stop bullshitting around and then you say that and I don't know if I can believe you!"

"For once…For once! I'd like everything not to be such a clusterfuck!"

"Kurt…Stop yelling at me…." Blaine said, wrapping his arms around himself. His eyes beginning to amber around the edges. "It's bringing back bad memories…"

"Blaine?" Kurt says taking notice of the gold in his eyes. Shit. The rooms starting to get warmer. "Blaine, come on…you have to keep control of yourself."

Blaine shakes his head, curling in on himself. "I can see it…"

"This whole house is about to erupt in flames." Sebastian is sitting in the corner. Kurt hasn't spoken to him since the night he learned Sebastian was a ghost. Kurt realizes that Blaine can sense hi and that's the reason his memories are coming back. Kurt growls at Sebastian, who is taking way too much pleasure in this.

"Knock it off! Haven't you done enough to him?!" Sebastian chuckles.

"And kitty is finally getting claws. I would get them in him if I were here."

The rooms getting hotter. Blaine's eyes are starting to amber over and soon the situation will be beyond control and the house will actually start on fire. Kurt walks over to Blaine and grabs his face—forces him to look up. The temperature is growing by the minute. Kurt is starting to sweat. Blaine is starting to pant. "Blaine, sweetie, you need to focus on me, okay? Don't think about it…"

Blaine looks desperate. Like he's trying to reach for Kurt but can't. "It was my fault…I could have helped him."

"You couldn't. You tried but you couldn't. It was his time to die."

Sebastian frowns and stands from the couch. "A group of thugs beat the shit out of me and it was my time to die?!"

The closer Sebastian gets, the more Blaine seems to struggle. Kurt's not willing to risk letting go of Blaine to try and stop him from getting closer. He focuses on Blaine. "You can't think about it anymore Blaine. What happened…it was something that just happens. It's not fair and I'm sorry you and him had to go through it."

"You don't know anything!"

Kurt closes his eyes as a flash of cold overwhelms the heat. "He's still here Blaine. I can see him. Sebastian's holding on to you." Blaine's eyes widened at the mention of his name. He's never mentioned his date by name. Kurt figured it was to keep it from haunting him too much. Now Blaine needs to face everything. "He can't move on because you're still holding on to him. You need to force him to let go. You need to forgive yourself. You did what needed to be done to survive. So you lost control, everyone does sometimes!"

Sebastian's stops pushing forward with a gasp. The heat is releasing. Blaine's eyes are becoming less gold. Kurt's brushing his hair away as he dares to put his face closer. "See? You're getting control back. You're not a monster, Blaine Anderson. You're an amazing person who had something bad happen to them once. Who saw someone he cared about died…you don't deserve to be punished for that. You deserved to be loved..." Kurt leans forward and claims Blaine's lips in a kiss. Nothing passionate. Nothing that ignited the spark in Kurt. But warm and tender. Just there. It's probably the most real moment of Kurt's life. In his head, he knows this is just Blaine, and he's probably not going to be happy about it later. Right now however, Blaine needs him and no matter what they are to each other, Kurt will be there if Blaine needs him.

When Kurt leans back and Blaine opens his eyes, they're hazel once more. "I want to let go."

Kurt nods and hugs Blaine. Looking over his shoulder at a visibly angry Sebastian. "I'm sorry you died. I'm sorry you don't get to experience this or get to grow old…That doesn't give you the right to tear him apart. You don't get to bring him down with you….I won't let you hurt him anymore…"

Sebastian huffed and stepped back. Motioning his hands. Kurt gasped as a large doorway of black formed behind him. It was the same black, orb-like thing Kurt had made with his hands. He knew it because the smell hit him harder than it had before. Sebastian sunk back into it and both were gone in an instant.

The room was normal once more—well, except for the fact that Mr. Berry's plastic vase was melted to the table. Rachel was going to have a hard time explaining that one. Blaine grasped onto Kurt and sleepily nuzzled his head on Kurt's shoulder. His body was still warm from everything that had occurred. Kurt sighed and just held him. At least the house hadn't exploded like Kurt thought it might.

Puck pushed the door to the basement open and leaned against the doorway. Boxers and all. "What the fuck are you guys doing up here?"

Nothing too out of the ordinary. Just stopping Blaine from smoldering us all into little tiny bits while sending away an angry spirit. The sad part was Kurt could have said that and Puck would have been too drunk to remember. "Nothing Noah…" Kurt sighed, shaking Blaine gently. So much for his objective. He had wanted Blaine to be closer to him once everything was said and done. Now, he actually felt like Blaine had shown him how scary he could be. Trainwreck didn't even describe how tonight had gone. "Come on Blaine. Let's get Finn and go home."

It may have also shown him the real reason he was so mad about Blaine's drunken 'I love you'. Because Kurt didn't have to be drunk to know he loved Blaine and if Blaine didn't mean it in anyway? That would be more heartbreaking than anything else going on in his life.

**Told you this would be a long chapter! I thought about just splitting into two different ones but then I figured I'd have just one chapter where nothing happened and another that might have ended up short so screw it, one long chapter! At least I get to fit some more of my favorite cannon lines in there ;) So the big questions: Will Cooper remember Tatiana telling him about Blaine's paternity? What will he do if he does? How will Kurt handle seeing this new side of Blaine? Will they FINALLY get together? And will we finally get the answers to why Kurt wasn't in the GAIA system to begin with? Still soooo many questions, lol. Would love to hear some more theories! Most of the time, I hear what you guys say and I think 'Wow, that would have been great! Why didn't I think of that?' **

**Along with the interest, as usual, thank you everyone who followed, favorited, or reviewed this story. You guys are troopers—waiting so long to see Blaine and Kurt get together and it's chapter 18! So much more patience than I have. Thank you!**

**Ittlebitz- Thank you! I mostly did it for the sake of the story (since Burt is more involved than Mr. Schuester and the story needed mort Burt and Kurt). I also might have been a little biased since I adore Burt and am not a Mr. Schue fan…Would that be terrible of me? Thanks for the review!**

**Anon- Lol, I'm guessing you're excited? Thank you very much! I hope you enjoy the update. Thank you for the review :)**

**imurmotherinlaw- Oh my gosh, thank you, thank you, thank you! What incredibly nice things to say! I'm always so worried that everything is becoming too much so it's really great to hear how much you like it all. Thank you again! To answer your question, for some stories I do prewrite them. I didn't for this one. I wrote pretty much everything in this chapter after the first Cooper/Tatiana scene to the end today (though that's fairly unusual—typically, it takes me days to finish a chapter). I think it kind of shows since I do make quite a few mistakes…Very much considering finding a beta. In any case, thank you once again for your kind words! You'll have to PM me if you post any of your stories up here on fanfiction or if you already have. Thank you very much for that awesome review and I hope you have a wonderful day too! **

**msdarque- Thank you! I hope you enjoy the new one. I agree, poor Trent, but things will get better and it will lead to something big, I promise. Again, I'm a sucker for Kurt and Burt moments so I figured we were long overdue for one. Lol, yes it seems they are! Again, I think it's my own little tribute to soap operas. The old ones were just amazing. Thank you for reviewing :) **

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Lol, finally I can say "Did I just blow your mind?". Archer reference :) In any case, I hope the new chapter blows your mind too. Thank you for the review!**

**ToniBalogna978- Thank you very much. And oh, that's a really good one! You'll have to see if you're right ;) In the mean time, I hope you enjoy the new chapter! Thank you for reviewing!**

**Swirlhearty23- Aw, thank you! I hope it continues to please :) Thank you for reviewing!**

**miss jayne76- Been quite a busy week in the Fortress, making up for lost time ;). Yes Robin's death is near but there is still hope. Andre's path is a little more uncertain—will he be a douche? Will he be good? Only time will tell. Can't tell you if Burt knows or not quite yet…I will point out if he does know, he'll have a pretty good reason for keeping quiet. I can't imagine him knowing and not saying anything to Kurt…Again, only time will tell. There's a little bit of Trent and a little bit of almost-Klaine in this chapter, but probably not what you want to see, lol. Thank you so much for reviewing as always :) Now it's back to the Fortress!**


	19. Chapter 19

Blaine woke up in a sweat and way too warm for comfort. He tosses the heavy comforter back but manages to grasp it once again when he feels how soft and fluffy it is compared to the one on his bed. Then it occurs to him, this isn't his bed.

That and well, he really needs to puke.

He hears the sound of running water and goes for it. By some miracle, it's close by and Blaine can let the acid burn his mouth until he finds the toilet. Another miracle, the toilet seat is up so he can wretch and actually have most of it make the toilet. "And it's a photo finish."

Blaine glances up and sees Kurt leaning over his own sink. His face is covered with white cream, which means he's just started his skin routine. Now it was obvious where he was. He was in Kurt's house. "What happened last night?"

"Well, we went to Rachel's party. You had a few too many. Or rather, you got shit-faced and tried to molest me on Ms. Berry's couch."

Blaine groans and hits his head against the porcelain bowl. "Molest?"

"Well, maybe handsy is a better word. I suppose it's my fault for trying to have a serious conversation with you while you were drunk."

What Kurt's saying isn't anything but the truth, and really, he's trying to take responsibility for whatever occurred. However, Blaine can hear the annoyance and sadness in Kurt's tone. He's shocked because for the first time since the dinner at his house, all of those bad feelings are directed at him.

The only difference, Blaine realizes, is that Kurt is the one in control. He remembers and Blaine just doesn't. "What were you trying to talk to me about?"

Kurt sighs and turns on the sink Hot water steams up almost immediately. He squeezes a make-up sponge underneath the faucet. "About us and our relationship. I said I was tired of us being so close to a couple and not being one. And you said…"

Blaine's head is splitting with an awful headache. He can barely focus on Kurt's movements as the other boy works through his seemingly mundane routine. It isn't though. He's seen Kurt in pain, he's seen Kurt stressed out, and he's seen Kurt angry. This is the first time he's seeing Kurt tired. Not the sort which pointed to physical exhaustion, but rather, the kind someone felt when they had been fighting for a long time and simply had no more fight in them. What could Blaine have possibly said to make _this _happen? "You said you loved me."

That was all it took for Blaine to remember. Not everything, but enough to piece the story together. He remembered Kurt denying it over and over again, telling Blaine he was drunk and didn't know what he was saying. And to be honest, Blaine couldn't deny that. As much as he thought the swirling, wonderful, happy feeling he got whenever Kurt was around could be love, he didn't know for certain. And wow, did that make him seem like an asshole. Kurt had put his heart on the line for Blaine and Blaine pretty much vomited on it.

Speaking of which, Blaine hangs his head and wretches. Not because of the hangover or the dizziness, but because he remembers what happened shortly after that. Kurt's resolve seems to break just a little bit. "Blaine?"

Blaine pulls back and wipes the dribble off the back of his hand. "I started freaking out, didn't I?" He doesn't need to look at Kurt to know he's nodding. "I could have burned the house down."

"You didn't…It wasn't all your fault either. Sebastian was there."

Blaine gasps and looks up. Too fast for his head to agree. He pushes the pain in his head away for the pain in his heart. "What did you say?"

"Sebastian. He followed you to Rachel's house."

"That's impossible—Sebastian's…"

"Dead? Yeah, I know." And Blaine certainly knows but he can't believe Kurt saw him. There isn't any other explanation though. Blaine's never mentioned Sebastian by name before. It makes sense too. Sometimes, he's been on top of the world and then moments later, he's felt as though he's felt an unexplainable depression. It's been over a year since the incident and he still has haunting nightmares that are just as scary as the original ones. Come to think of it, maybe he's felt Sebastian with him all along. Maybe that's why the cloud of darkness surrounding the even has only thickened. "He's been around… Trent figured out that's he's been surviving on the energy of the other boys. He's been following you probably since the night he died."

"To-to hurt me?" The thought is unbearable to Blaine, but why shouldn't Sebastian hate him? It was Blaine's fault he was dead. Blaine could have stepped in much sooner. Only one person could have been killed and it would have been the one who deserved to die. Sebastian didn't deserve to die with his attacker.

Kurt scrapes the last of the product off his face and looks down at Blaine. He says in a firm and serious tone of voice. "No. He did it because he couldn't let go. Don't even think that he had any right to hurt you or put the people in that house in danger because he didn't."

"But you don't understand…"

"Blaine, what exactly about talking to a ghost is there to understand?" Kurt cuts-off. "I mean, I know that's not what you meant but…do you really think I don't? I'm afraid everyday that I could die that very same way—sometimes I'm worried I'll say something stupid and someone will attack me…sometimes when I dream, I haven't done anything wrong and someone still wants to hurt me. It's a nightmare we have to live with because we can't hide who we are." Kurt wipes his face with a towel. That's one similarity he had never considered between superhumans and humans. They shared a fear of judgment and prejudice. Maybe things were slightly different (gays in the human world, absorbers in this one) but really, both groups shared the most basic instincts, which was to defend yourself from what you didn't know. "Maybe we have an advantage because we have powers but with GAIA watching so closely and how rigorous the rules are, you may have to face a consequence anyway… What happened to Sebastian was tragic and it was because a group of people were ignorant and filled with hate—you shouldn't give them the satisfaction of **hating yourself too**." Kurt yells the last part just a little bit harder, hoping if Sebastian happens to be around that he'll hear him and maybe stop being such an asshole.

"It wasn't your fault and if you want Sebastian to rest in peace, you have to start believing that."

Kurt tosses the towel in the hamper and starts stepping out of the bathroom. Blaine tilts his head carefully. "What are you doing?"

"Getting dressed. Then I'm going over to Mercedes house—we're probably going shopping and I might spend the night at her house."

"Oh." Blaine eases himself off the floor and is about to open the door when he remembers Kurt's first sentence. He blushes and decides to wash his mouth out instead. "I was kind of hoping maybe we could get coffee? My treat to thank you for bringing me home." There's a long pause. Way too long to just be considering. Unless he was thinking of ways to say no. "Kurt?"

"Blaine. This is all complicated and I have no idea what you want or what I want and…" Kurt pushes the door open and looks even more exhausted. More heart-broken than he has ever seen Kurt. "And I can't sort it out because I live with you all the time. I just think we should take Christmas break to be a part and figure out what this is."

Blaine felt a piercing pain in his chest. He doesn't know what's worse; Kurt pushing him away or the fact he was the one who made Kurt push him away. The very last thing he wants right now is for Kurt to stop talking to him; especially when he's not entirely sure if Kurt will want to come back.

He knows that telling Kurt he loved him was the breaking point. Saying it drunk had just taken one more thing from Kurt and now he had little left to give. Kurt never seemed to have a breaking point though Blaine knew one existed. He didn't break when he found out about superhumans, he didn't break when he learned the truth about his mom, but apparently, his breaking point was his uncertainty of Blaine's love. The pain got worse until Blaine could hardly breathe

Kurt closes the door again. Blaine fights through long enough to pull himself together and leave. Kurt is eating downstairs when Blaine stumbles down. He barely even looks up from his piece of toast. "Promise to text me? Even if it's just to say you're alive?"

The other boy nods. Blaine leaves without another word and gets into his mustang. He closes the door and bangs his forehead against the steering wheel. The words 'stupid' and 'fuck-up' leave his lips numerous times before they dissolve into sobs. Remembering last night and hearing Kurt say they needed space just proved one thing to Blaine—he absolutely needed Kurt in his life.

()()()()()()()

Robin is sitting in her kitchen chair absent-mindedly filling out a crossword. Floyd is sitting across from her, drinking a coffee and looking through his paper. Cooper's gone out for a jog and Blaine is at Kurt's. It's not the first time the couple have been alone but Robin is more on edge then ever. She and Cooper haven't talked about his night with Tatiana yet and she's hoping Cooper may have forgotten it.

She knows better. She can say the hours at work have kept her away from home. She can say Cooper is an adult and doesn't have to be home for every meal. Feeling the confusion, the anger, and a list of other unnamable emotions that aren't at all good? Robin couldn't deny that anymore than she could deny Tatiana's words. This entire situation she's allowed herself to be in is disgusting.

"We should take a vacation." Robin's self-loathing is so loud she almost doesn't hear those words. She repeats them in her head and looks up from her crossword. There's a hint of tension hanging in the air, but she feels the sincere hope cutting though. "The four of us I mean. It's been awhile since we've gone on one. Or if Cooper has work, maybe you, me, and Blaine could go."

Robin's surprised because the last time she brought up going on vacation, Floyd went off in a tangent about how Blaine couldn't stand to be in the same room as him, never mind share a get away.

She knows this is his way of trying to make peace. Trying to find something they both loved (travelling) and trying to start anew from there. It really couldn't have come at a worse time. She can't possibly entertain the idea of a vacation when she's not sure how much longer the secret that's kept their family together is going to stay a secret. Not when she's dealing with Kurt, Blaine, Andre and god knows what else. "I don't know. I'd have to see what's going on with work. Do you think you could get away from the office?"

She's not expecting him to come back with anything. She's expecting it to fade away just like every other attempt to fix this has gone. Right now, they were more focused on not breaking things more. "We're doing it again."

"Doing what, hon?"

"Burying ourselves in work and hoping everything will be fine. It's what we did before Blaine was born." Floyd says simply. He puts his paper down. "Robin, please…"

Robin hears the desperation and looks up. For the first in a long time, their eyes meet and she's reminded as to why she still wants to be in this. Because she knows nothing will ever compare to the first time she saw those eyes and knew she'd fall in love with them. Because after very nearly 27 years of marriage, most of those years under a strain, he could still look at her like she was everything. "We need to reconnect somehow. I feel things getting farther away…our marriage, my relationship with Blaine; and I have no idea how to fix it."

Robin swallows and says with a gruff voice. "It's not something you can just fix, Floyd. It takes time and…"

"So it's not worth it then? We're just going to live in this cycle?" No, that's not what she means at all, but in her head, she could see how he got that. She was just so tired of this. Of going back and forth and reaching no conclusion.

Robin looks back to her crossword. "I don't want to fight with you about this. Not now."

"That's all we do anymore. We try not to fight. Did it ever occur to you that we're not fighting hard enough? At least when Blaine shouts at me, I know what he's thinking."

"Are you actually suggesting that fighting is going to fix this? Because if you are, I'm not even going to entertain that ridiculous idea." Robin spat, feeling her blood rise all the more. Floyd gives her a humorless laugh.

"Oh yes, how silly of me. Us humans are just so ridiculous thinking we could ever compare to the likes of you superhumans. And you wonder why Blaine has this complex."

"Are you listening to yourself?!" Robin slams down on the table. And this is what makes her wonder why she bothers. She fights back against the urge to scream the truth about every little lie she ever told to spite him. To tell him just how much pain he was causing her son. "You wonder why Blaine is your enemy or why I can barely stand to be around? You make us into the enemy. You sit there saying how we should accept you for what you are but you can't even handle that Blaine is gay or that I have powers!"

Floyd is silent for a long time. "I'm trying to accept Blaine for what he is. I realize my treatment of his coming out wasn't as supportive as I should have been but can you hardly blame me? After what happened at the Sadie Hawkins…"

"We're not talking about it. That's in the past…"

"He killed a man! He almost killed all three of those boys! And your solution is to pretend it never happened? With all those anger issues, he's a loose cannon and I know _nothing_ about it! You won't let me in!"

"You know nothing about it because there's nothing you can do."

"Because I'm a human!" Robin wants to say no but can't. It's true. To clean the situation up as quickly and as precisely as possible, she had to keep Floyd out. She had to deal with this problem alone because he couldn't possibly understand what it's like to go out of control.

Knowing he's right makes her realize that his problems with Blaine had very little to do with his sexuality. It was partly because he didn't know what Blaine was capable of or how much control he had over him—which she could admit wasn't a lot compared to her. He also saw how traumatized both she and Blaine had been by the situation and how helpless he was to help. They've all warped these things into their own ideas of how the situation was going because…

Because they decided to step on pins and needles. Floyd lawyered her. And he was right. It made the guilt that much worse.

Ironically, what stops her from breaking is that Cooper is back from his jog. A jacket wrapped tightly around his body. "You guys really need to get a treadmill. It's freezing out…" Cooper trails off as he takes notice of the hard tension. "Oh um…"

Floyd stands before Cooper can excuse himself. "I'm going to the office. Work." Never mind it's Sunday and nearly noon, Floyd isn't a man who likes to make a scene. Besides Robin, he's really shy with most people. He doesn't want to continue this in front of Cooper. The front door slams shut as an empty echo rings through the house.

Robin thinks Cooper is just going to walk out of the room. Today though, she's getting everything but what she expected. Cooper stares at her from across the room. His eyes judgmental, but confused. Like when he was a child and complained to Robin because their elderly neighbor always yelled at him and his friends. Robin explained to the then-boy that age had made him cranky and Cooper couldn't possibly understand because he only knew youth. Now 25, Cooper gave her that same expression.

After awhile, he sits down next to her. This is it. She's finally going to have to answer for her actions. "What Tatiana said…it was true wasn't it?" Robin doesn't answer. She sits and waits for him to blow up. For the gun to go off and kill this entire thing like she should have the moment she slept with Andre. Instead Cooper releases a long sigh. "I'm such an idiot…it was all there. You never talked about this supposed pyrokinetic relative. Blaine looks nothing like Dad. For god sakes, his eyes- blue and green couldn't possibly create that hazel… How have you kept this hidden for so long?"

A question Robin asked herself everyday. "I don't know. Got good at lying I suppose. As far as GAIA's concerned, Blaine has empathy. I told Andre Blaine I was due a month later than he actually was—I think he knew I was lying all along but didn't say anything. People were so focused on Santana and Maribel they weren't even looking at us save for a few rumors."

"And what does Dad know?" Cooper asked. Robin runs a hand through her hair and sighs. She can hear Cooper's fingernails digging in the table where he was grabbing on to it. "He doesn't know anything… He still thinks Blaine is his son, doesn't he?"

"Blaine is his son. In everyway that counts. His name is on the birth certificate, he raised Blaine, he loves Blaine…"

"He doesn't know Mom!" Cooper shouts suddenly. Robin flinches; waves of newly released anger hitting her in waves. Cooper stands up and starts to pace. "Jesus, I mean, you've kept this a secret for 16 years and let him believe that the kid he loved was his son? And what about Blaine? Blaine's almost an adult and he has no idea that Andre Moretta is his father. Andre _fucking_ Moretta of all people. How the hell could you do this?!"

"You answered your own question." Robin says. Unlike with Floyd, Robin has no desire to break and yell back. She remains calm even in the face of Cooper's incensed look. "I was going to tell your father, I sincerely was, but he was so happy when I told him I was pregnant with Blaine and Andre wanted nothing to do with Blaine…that much was apparent. By the time Blaine was born, Floyd had fallen in love with him; you had fallen in love with him. How could I possibly take away the first instance of happiness any of us had felt in years?"

Cooper turns away, not wanting to accept it as the right thing to do when he felt it was wrong in his heart. "Blaine's not a little kid. You can't expect…"

"When was I going to tell him Cooper? During his rocky puberty? After the Sadie's Hawkins dance? Or in between Floyd and Blaine's many fights?" Cooper looks over his shoulder. The anger released. Instead, there was just sadness. Cooper knew she was right. Now that he did, he wished he never even knew. "I know what I've done is terrible, and if Blaine didn't exist, this would have ended differently. But Blaine does exist and he needs Floyd and Floyd needs him. Blaine is in a fragile state still with everything that happened and we can't risk him finding out. It would kill him or he might go and hurt someone in his rage. You understand what I'm asking you…"

"Fuck," Cooper groans. "Fuck, I just wish Tatiana never would have told me… I'll try. For Blaine. No one else. What happened between you, Dad, and Andre; that's between the three of you. Frankly, I don't want to know. Blaine didn't ask for this though…"

In this moment, Robin can appreciate just how much Cooper cares for Blaine. There may have been a ten-year age difference between the two. They may get on each other's nerves sometimes. From the moment Blaine was born, however, Cooper has done his best to keep Blaine safe from both the human world and the supernatural one. Robin nods. "Thank you. In return for that, I won't ask you what's going between you and Tatiana."

Somehow, through all of this, Cooper manages a smile. "We may have a bit of a history ourselves. You know those Crawford girls." Robin smirks at that. Cooper shakes his head. "It doesn't matter. She's getting married and everything seems kind of weird now…"

Robin gives him an apologetic look. She can feel the warm feeling in his chest, the racing in his head at the very mention of Tatiana. Her poor son's choice in women would be the death of him. First a human, now an engaged woman. "You don't share any blood you know…I may not like it but she is the first woman you've felt this way about since Chelsea…I'm assuming."

Cooper gives a hesitant nod but a sharp pain hits him that Robin can feel. For the first time, she realizes it may not be about Chelsea. "Like I said, it doesn't matter." The front door bursts open. Through the doors to the hallway, she can see Blaine walking slowly through the halls. Cooper smirks devilishly seeing his head hung low. "Hey Little Brother! Party hard last night!"

Blaine covers his ears at Cooper's booming voice. Blaine glares at him. "Piss off…" Robin's about to yell at him but she can feel how upset Blaine is. Something happened at the party last night. Something bad.

Blaine can probably see that Robin knows because he takes off for his room in that instant. Cooper's looking after him with a raised eyebrow. "What's his problem?"

Robin rubs a hand over her face. "I don't know, but I don't think he had a good time at the party."

()()()()()()()

"Shelby, as much as I enjoy seeing you, this isn't really a good time." Shelby finds her brother in his office. Beth is hanging off Shelby's hip as she walks in. His tie is loose; hair messy from his hands being ran through it too much. His eyes are glued to his laptop to screen. He must have been here for hours. She might have left and told him to call her except she decided he needed to know about Robin.

"This isn't really something that wait, Andre."

"Well, it has to. We have a huge problem…" Andre states simply. He looks at her with contemplation. As if he isn't sure that he wants her to know. He must decide he does because he walks behind her and closes the door. "It's Elizabeth's son."

Shelby frowns. "Kurt? What about him?" Beth's grasping onto Shelby's ponytail. Being so shocked, Shelby hardly feels the tiny little pulls on her scalp.

Andre doesn't answer, but rather points to his laptop. Shelby goes around the desk and takes a look. It takes everything in her power just to breathe again.

Up on the screen is a GAIA profile belonging to Kurt Hummel with all his information filling the blanks. Even his parents are listed. Shelby's not sure what she expected Elizabeth's son to look like but it certainly wasn't like this. His skin and build is almost exactly likes hers. His lips pouty and full, just as hers had been. His hair wasn't the red hers was, but rather a light brunette. His eyes held her determination and wisdom, but were the same color as Burt Hummel's. In many ways, even on a computer screen he's just a beautiful as she was. She wonders just how much like Elizabeth he turned out to be.

Shelby's stomach twists tightly as she grasps onto Beth tighter. "How did it get on there?!" She whispers fiercely as if someone might be listening. At this point, they could very well be.

"Robin. I'm sure of it. I've done some research and Kurt is in the Warblers with Blaine. He was the one who passed out, I'm sure of it."

"But he was listed under the New Directions with Rachel."

"He must have changed schools before the programs could be changed. That's what threw me off too until I didn't find him at McKinley. The only good thing about this whole situation is he has two places he considers home." Andre explains. Shelby shakes her head.

"Just take it down now. Maybe if it's gone, no one will see it."

"It is down. This is a copy from the profile code …but it was up 16 hours before I saw it. If someone's looking for Kurt, then they could have seen it."

Shelby shakes her head. This is precisely why Elizabeth disempowered herself. So any children of hers wouldn't be in the system. A power like hers—immortality, it was the thing everyone in the world desired more than anything. The only guarantee that you really would last forever. People would always chase her and possibly a child of hers if it meant getting that power. Andre and Shelby agreed the best way to protect Kurt was to keep him out of the system even if he developed powers. Which was technically speaking, illegal by GAIA but since it was to protect the son of the creator, they figured the rules could be broken. "Do you think someone's looking for Kurt?"

Another long pauses develops. "I don't know for certain… members of Sovereign have been showing up. Sandy Ryerson was arrested for selling pot to high school students." Andre puts a particular spin of disgust to his name. Sandy joined Sovereign only after he was passed up for the promotion that Andre would eventually receive. "A friend south has told me April Rhodes has been trying to charm the politics. We're still trying to figure out where Al Motta stands but he's been seen with Bryan Ryan." Andre's eyes narrow. "This is fucked up. If Sovereign gets enough support from the more influential superhumans..."

He didn't have to finish. Shelby could see it play out. A complete turn of government. Perhaps even a split, which could not be resolved because of the two different ideals.

Sovereign was a well-known resilience group that believed superhumans shouldn't obey their made-up government, but rather come out into the open among the humans. Most of those same superhumans believed they were better than humans and the world should belong to them. They were the nut jobs in an otherwise confusing government setting. They were also dangerous because for every member GAIA supporters knew about, there were ten more they didn't. Anybody could be a member of Sovereign because it wasn't documented like GAIA was.

The thing was in recent years it was gaining more support. Elizabeth herself said that while GAIA had laws and regulations that didn't always work; Sovereign only offered anarchy. It would offer no guidelines which that, along with the introduction to the human world, would cause such vast confusion and destruction that Shelby didn't want to think about the movement succeeded. It never seemed to be a problem until now.

If someone was after Kurt's powers or just the fact he was the son of GAIA's founder, then the perfect way would be trace him through the government. Sovereign could use or kill Kurt and Andre wouldn't be able to protect him because he would be out of power. This wasn't what Elizabeth wanted. Not at all.

Shelby's mind comes full circle and she remembers why she's there. Robin. Maybe it's not a coincidence that Robin is so sickly looking when a civil war is on the horizon. "Andre…about Robin."

"She's on our side…Her and I have our issues but she's loyal to GAIA this was just a mistake."

"No listen." Shelby tells him firmly. Andre looks up, his face so tired. She knows he can't take much more bad news right now, but she can't keep this from him either. In the end, they were each other's confidents. The only people in the world who could be honest with each other. "I came here to look over the letter Elizabeth sent me and she came here looking for you. I didn't even recognize her. She looks so old and so sick…" Andre's entire frame stills. His lips parting in shock as he realizes what she means. "Robin's in danger."

Andre looks away and swallows. "I think we all are. We'll have to go talk to Park Telly."

()()()()()()()

"So, you just told him you didn't want to see him over Christmas break?" Mercedes asks as she's straightening her hair in her bathroom mirror. Kurt's sitting on her bed, staring at the same broken antique dresser that had belonged to his mother. Mercedes had been a good mother to it since Kurt couldn't bring it with him to the move. Now he wonders just what the dresser had seen. If his mother really bought it from a flea market like his dad said or if his mother has had it with her since it was new. "Boy, why did you do that?"

Kurt filled Mercedes on most of the stuff going on with Blaine. All except of course that they all had powers and that he almost burnt Rachel Berry's house down fighting the memory of his dead romantic interest. "Hearing him say he loved me and having possibly not be true—it just struck a chord with me. I don't know, maybe I'm over reacting."

Kurt just wants to lean down and smell the dresser like he use to. He doesn't want to risk it while Mercedes is so close by, so he instead he just stares. Mentally asking it all the questions he wanted to ask his mom. _Why didn't you leave me something to learn from? Why did you leave me alone to deal with this? Please tell me everything will be okay like you did when you I was a kid?_

Mercedes interrupts Kurt by standing in the doorway. She looks at him contemplatively. "I know how seriously you take these things but did you ever consider that maybe he meant it?"

Kurt snorts. "How could he? We've only known each other…"

"Two months? Sometimes people fall in love faster than that."

"We call them desperate." Kurt says matter-of-factly. Mercedes smiles.

"My parents were only together 3 weeks before they got engaged and they've been married for 23 years." Mercedes points out. Kurt shrugs.

"What works for them doesn't work for everyone else." He points out. Mercedes rolls her eyes in response. In a more sober tone, he adds. "He was drunk Mercedes, he didn't know what he was saying."

"No, but that's another thing…they say when you're drunk, people say things they think but don't say because their filters won't allow it. You said when you told him what he said that he didn't deny it—that he meant it or not. He didn't even apologize for it. Maybe he wasn't entirely sorry for saying it." Mercedes wags her finger. "You didn't think about that, did you?"

Kurt smiles. "No, I guess I didn't…" And the more he does, the more he starts to wonder. Maybe his heart isn't fully ready to accept that Blaine might be telling the truth. Maybe it's been guarded for so long, especially more so after finding out about his mom, that's he doesn't want to trust Blaine with everything.

But Blaine for the most part has proven himself trust-worthy and was there anyone else Kurt would want to trust? He went through a list of names in his head but couldn't come up with anything.

"All I'm saying is don't throw away something that's made you happy because of a stupid mistake." Mercedes says. She walks across the room and opens the bottom of the broken drawer. Kurt digs his fingers into her duvet. "Damn. I think mom my mom put my socks in the laundry. Be right back." All Kurt can think about as Mercedes stands up and walks for the door is how perfect this is. She left the drawer open so Kurt doesn't have to worry about putting everything back. Mercedes washing machine and dryer was in her basement so he'd have at least a minute or so before she was back.

The moment she leaves, he flings himself to the floor and hangs off the drawer, searching for the smell of his mother's perfume. It's faint under the smell of fabric softener and Mercedes body spray of choice, but he finds it. His mind latches onto it and holds on for whatever it's worth. He's happy it's still there, but equally upset because even after everything he still sees his mother as a support system.

He swears in that moment though, he can feel his mother wrapping her arms around him and holding him close. Whispering those soothing things she always said in his ear. The dresser is the only way he could ever truly remember her. Any other time, it feels like he hardly knew her at all.

But the dresser made it seem like she never left.

**And there's chapter 19. One more until 20 (hurray!). Apologies that the update was a little later. Very busy getting ready to go back to college classes. In fact, after next week the updates may come slower than usual but I'll update when possible. **

**Thanks as usual to my wonderful readers—especially the ones who reviewed, favorited, or alerted this story. You are very wonderful and I hope you continue to enjoy this story even as we approach the 20 chapter mark/the return to college life. **

**eliza344- Awesome to hear! Blaine's beginning the healing process but let's just say, it's not all over yet. No, I haven't said why Kurt's powers are different yet, though I will say I did drop a few very vague hints as to why. All I'll say is that I kind of used Trent to drop one hint, but the answer, you'll have to wait to see ;) Thanks for the review! Hope you enjoyed the update.**

**swirlhearty23- Glad you enjoyed it! I hope you like this one as well :) It almost had to be Kurt in this instance, but in a way, I still feel a little like Blaine still has to face his demons alone, but I wanted Kurt to be there for him then. Thanks for the review!**

**AlexaCardew- There are certainly a lot of them, aren't there? Lol, hopefully, we'll be answering some of them rather than adding them but sometimes, I can't help but throw in another. Thank you for reviewing!**

**irishflute- Aw, thank you for reviewing! You know, it's funny, originally, I wasn't going to have Sebastian show up—it was going to end fairly similar to how the drunk scene in 'The First Time' ended but I realized we hadn't had a Sebastian scene in awhile so I went in that direction instead. Robin and Finn was sort of a 'it needs to be dealt with scene' but I'm glad a few things were able to come out of it, mainly their intentions. As for Trent, I'm incredibly happy I've been able to have him and Kurt be such good friends. For right now, his crush is a secret but we'll see soon enough, maybe with some help from Kurt ;) Aw thank you very much for saying that— it seems in this story I like to take cannon scenes and put my own little spin on them. People seem to like it so far so I'm very happy about that.**

**You know, I went back to read some of my writing after reading that and you are absolutely right! Now that I see it, it almost bugs to no end that I've written that way for so long. So in this chapter, I tried to keep a lot of it in present tense—you'll have to let me know if I do a better job keeping with one tense. Thank you very much for pointing that out and doing so in a respectful manner :) I just hope it didn't cause too much of an inconvenience. Thank you once again for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the new chapter!**

**I Love McPriceley- Me too :) Especially the sexy ones. Something about fire and hotness and what not…Thank you for reviewing!**

**ToniBalogna978- I know, I'm always mean to Blaine in my stories, and lets just say Blaine's past hasn't left him alone just yet ;) I would be too if I was Kurt, but they should be making progress soon—though they have to take a few steps back to do it. Hope you like the update! Thanks for the review!**

**happytobeyourdork- That is true! And Blaine sent more mix signals in cannon than he is in this story so maybe it's not going too slow. But in any case, I'm hoping to have them actually together very soon. Aw! Thank you very much for saying that! Again, sorry if this update was a little slower than previous ones. Originally, I was going to have it so Cooper wouldn't remember everything but I think I decided that the secret needed to start unraveling and to make that happen, someone in the Anderson family other than Robin needed to know. When it comes completely out, we'll have to see. Hope you enjoy the update! Thank you for reviewing!**

**msdarque- Thank you! Yeah, I'm being mean to Cooper too I think. Making him 'lose' his fiancée, then making him hot for a girl who's engaged to another man (not to mention, shares a half-brother with him—a very soap opera thing to happen), and now he knows his mother's secret. The Kurt/Blaine thing is complicated to say the least, but believe or not, this is the beginning of them actually getting together. Although I can't say if that he's moved on completely yet…Thank you for reviewing! Enjoy the new chapter!**

**Ittlebitz- I love him too :) So very happy I've gotten to put him in this story as much as I have. Thank you for reviewing!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Lol, very sweet of you to say! Thank you very much! I just hope it continues to be entertaining! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the update!**

**miss jayne76- It happens :) Sounds like goods times though. Spent a lot of this chapter wrapping up the mess created by the last one (oh alcohol) but mess always makes for entertainment. As for Dustin, can't say for sure yet but you're certainly on the right track. Hopefully a few of those questions were answered in this chapter. As for now, I must return to the fortress and make use of the time I have left before college classes starts. Thank you for reviewing and enjoy the update!**

**Georgie- Thank YOU for reviewing! I hope you enjoy this update as well. We'll get to learn more about Kurt's powers fairly soon hopefully. It might be a few chapters though but we're starting to wind down to that point. Thank you for reviewing!**


	20. Chapter 20

Being a Jewish kid around Christmas time was always a little bit lonely. Rachel thinks she should be use to it by now but with the break-up is just making the Holiday season a moody time. This is why she's trying to seek refuge at In Between the Sheets; under the guise of looking for new songs the New Directions can sing for Regional's. After all, there won't be a tie where everyone wins and gets what they want. The New Directions have to be better if they hope to beat both The Warblers and Vocal Adrenaline.

She picks up a few different books and tries not to cry if the title is clearly a love song. Why couldn't she have just forgiven Finn? Why did she push him away by making out with his best friend of all people? Rachel's never allowed herself to feel like the victim but right now, all she can think about is how stupid she was and how she lost Finn as a result.

"That song's too boring for your range." Rachel startles up and nearly gasps. It can't possibly be true because the idea is just- just crazy! Yet somehow, Jesse St. James of Vocal Adrenaline is standing right beside Rachel. "You should sing something that showcases your range more. What's the point of having a beautiful voice if you don't showcase it?"

"You're-You're…"

"Jesse St. James." He finishes with a smile. So oddly cat-like for a male. Rachel can't see that; she's too blinded by his compliments and the fact that Jesse St. James may be the only kid in all of Ohio who's more talented than she is. He sticks out his hand. "My fame precedes me. Such a curse to be so talented, isn't it Rachel?"

Another shallow breath. "You know my name?"

"Of course I do. As my competition, I keep very close tabs on you. I've even seen the video of your solo at Sectionals last year. A bit egotistical of you to think you can pull off Babs, but I can't say you didn't do the song justice." Jesse says. Rachel blushes and looks down. Jesse didn't realize working her would be this easy or this much fun. "What else do you have?"

He doesn't wait for her to tell him; he just takes the stack and goes through them. His eyes light up upon seeing a songbook for Lionel Richie. "Ah, Lionel Richie. Excellent choice." He puts the rest of the books down and grasps Rachel's hand, dragging her over to the piano. "Would you do me the honor, Ms. Berry?"

Rachel looks uncertain; she taps her glittering gold shoes together. "I don't know if it's wise to fraternize with the enemy. It makes me nervous."

Jesse looks fondly. "I remember when I use to get nervous…" Then with another smile he sits at the piano bench and pats the seat next to him. "Come on now, it's not like I'll learn anymore about you than you will about me. If anything, I'm giving you an advantage."

Rachel considers for another moment before sitting down at the bench. He can sense her energy beside him—tense, but intrigued. Very high too. She's an excitable person, he can tell. He may have been confused by why her energy was stronger than an average human but not quite the caliber of a superhuman, if he didn't have a sneaking suspicion of who she was. Namely, who she was to Shelby Corcoran.

Jesse fingers glide across the piano keys and beautiful soft music rings out. The undeniable melody of _Hello_ washed over the two of them. Rachel sings with him and people actually stop to listen to them. Maybe that has something to do with Jesse creating an awe-inspiring energy but it's not for them. It's for Rachel.

And a promise he made.

()()()()()()()

_It was raining two nights ago when she asked to meet him. In the parking lot of an old clothing store long since abandoned, Jesse climbs into the car without a second thought. Shelby is at the wheel, clenching it with her fingers. It was apparent she had been deep in thought until he came in. She regards him with a warm smile. "How's my favorite student?"_

"_Former student." Jesse corrects in a teasing manner. He had practically begged Shelby not to leave when she adopted Beth. Practically being the primary word there. He had his pride and as much as he enjoyed Shelby not just as a mentor, but also as a friend, he understood her reasons for leaving beyond taking care of a whiney, crying, little brat. "And despite the fact I'm soaked to the bone because you refuse to meet at a restaurant, I suppose I'm okay." _

_Shelby sighs, looking out the window. "I apologize. I had to make sure it was safe."_

"_For you or me?"_

"_Both…for what I'm about to tell you too...I heard Goolsby's made Vocal Adrenaline a strictly superhuman choir this year… " Jesse raises an eyebrow. He's not really surprised she has a secret. Shelby's always been a very private person. She didn't like to talk about herself and usually, if anything comes out of her mouth, its criticism or praise. It's why he likes her so much—she doesn't waste time with human-formalities or didn't until tonight. _

"_He thought it'd give us a better chance against The Warblers." Jesse lies. _

"_Do you think being sleep deprived has made me stupid?" Shelby says and when she turns, she actually does look annoyed. Jesse has never known what it was like to disappoint someone. From the moment he was born both his parents adored and spoiled him, even after their divorce (in anything, the spoiling grew after that). He thought literally nothing could disappoint them but that was easy enough when they only paid attention sometimes. As much as they wanted him to be a huge star, they had allowed Shelby to fill in the roles of parent, which needed support, conditioning, and watching as their child grew. Shelby had filled that role better than Jesse could have ever asked. He almost felt more indebted to her than he did his real mother. So needless to say, the flash of disappointment that strikes her eyes is a little bit hard for him to swallow. "The Warblers have always been a exclusively superhuman group…It's GAIA sanctioned to be that way. Goolsby's doing it because…because I trusted the wrong person." _

_It's silent in the car. Shelby's fingers tighten just a little more before she releases the wheel. "Which makes me wonder if I can trust you." _

"_Of course you can." Jesse says with a smile. Shelby can't help but smile back—the same exact cat-like smile._

"_Don't do that Jesse. I showed you that, remember? Looks like your smiling so much it actually hurts." Shelby tilts her head and considers. "Have you ever honestly been yourself around someone before?"_

_Jesse should have taken it as an insult, he shrugged instead. "Performing's my life. You said yourself I have to be a certain way if I ever want any work. I imagine if I walked into a audition, insulted their tacky clothes and raved on about how my endless resources can get me anywhere I want like I use to, they'd turn me away immediately."_

_Shelby nods understandingly. "But this isn't a performance …This is real life. There are consequences beyond my repair if I trust you and that trust is as misplaced as it was in Dustin." _

_It finally hit Jesse that this was so much bigger than about Dustin not running the show choir as she saw fit. This war more than about smoke and mirrors—or maybe they just didn't exist anymore. For the first time, Jesse felt like he may have been talking to the real Shelby. "I get this strange feeling you don't have any choice but to trust me."_

"_I really don't." Shelby responds too quickly to be comfortable. He doesn't know what feels worse—knowing Shelby doesn't trust him, knowing there may be a good reason for it, or knowing she's getting back into a corner but something. "Don't take this personally. If it were just Dustin, then I would have told you everything the moment you got in the car. It's not—you've been divided on this issue a long time. Your parents of course have their opinions and they've been putting them on you for awhile." _

_The whole reason his parents had gotten divorced was their differences about GAIA. His father had been a long time supporter while his mother had started to drift more towards the ideals of Sovereign. Jesse lived with his mother most of the time, so he often got the 'why-Sovereign-is-great' speech from her. His dim-witted big sister, Zoey, of course followed their mother full-heartedly. The only other smart member in his family, his older brother and Zoey's twin, Frank had insisted neither one was very good just before going off to some unknown part of the world. Last he heard, Frank was part of an artist commune in France. Jesse wasn't sure which side he fell on but tended to go with whatever side benefit him the most. "I've always liked you, Jesse. You're smart, passionate—I've always felt like you were more my son than my student. I hate doing this, not just because I don't know if it's right but because I'm putting you a very unsafe position. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't be doing it."_

"_And who's her?" Jesse finally asks. Shelby gives a weary but tender smile. _

"_My daughter." Beth? "You've probably heard of her… she's in your rival show choir." _

()()()()()()()()

And Rachel did look almost exactly like Shelby. Even the way she sang—delicately like a china doll with a booming voice coming from her mouth. Shelby had explained some of the circumstances of Rachel's birth—her father had been killed, it wasn't safe for her to be around Shelby, Shelby gave her up and left until it was safe once again. Only Shelby didn't feel safe anymore—and she wanted to make sure Rachel remained since Rachel had been disempowered and there for could not protect herself.

"_Protect her. Keep her safe. Let me know if someone is trying to hurt her. I'm trusting you Jesse. If you betray me, at the very least, don't betray her."_

His fingers play out the last note as he and Rachel stare at each other. Rachel breaks the eye contact with a blush. "You're even better in person."

"You too." He compliments with another smile. He takes his hands away as the crowd that formed around them starts to fade. "Would you like some coffee? I have some time before I have to get back to my own club."

Where his current teacher, Dustin Goolsby, resides. The very one Shelby didn't trust anymore.

()()()()()()()

The Telly's live in a home not so different from the one Andre use to live in. Back when he still had a wife and daughter and that was all he had. Back when Carl and Shelby were alive and would come by together. Back when Elizabeth would charm and tease him as always rather than haunt him.

Before he knew of Robin Anderson and the conflicting feelings she would bring out in him.

"Suppose Park can't help us, I don't suppose you have a plan B, do you?" Shelby asks, heels dusting through the light frost of the brick pavement. Andre couldn't say he did. Despite how old they were now, it reminded him of when they were kids and they had broken a picture frame in their father's office, where they weren't allowed to be. They hid for hours out in the backyard before Ms. Anne as she was known as at the time came out and found them. "Your silence doesn't exactly fill me with confidence."

"He's always been able to help before. He was the one who warned Elizabeth." Andre states simply. Shelby pauses to look at a statue Mrs. Telly put in her weather dead garden.

"He didn't know about Carl." The word slice through more than the cold breeze that deflects across his face. For years now—over a decade and a half now, Shelby has been fighting the ghost of her dead beloved and her estranged daughter. There were times where Andre actually believed she was going insane. "He couldn't stop that from happening…"

"He's not a god. He's a man like everyone else. No one knew what was going to happen to Carl."

"Frankly, I don't think destiny is on our side." Shelby says bitterly. Andre supposes this is to be expected all things considering. "We help Elizabeth find a normal life, and Carl dies for it. A few years later, Elizabeth dies anyway. The woman you actually fall in love is married—not that it matters because she might be dying."

"Yes well, maybe instead of listing our misfortunes, we should be taking inventory of our assets." Andre spat. He didn't have much patience for Shelby's self-pity today. Andre was never one to sit around and bemoan his circumstances. He learned quickly in this business you had to adapt and change. That was the deal with life as well. As much as it hurt to have three kids who didn't speak to you, one that didn't even know who you were, half of your own community hating you, and the woman you loved bonded for life to another man, you didn't have much choice but to move on. "I realize this is difficult for you…"

"Oh, you do?" Shelby's steps pause just as they approach the steps. Andre sighs and looks back at her, almost bored. He loved his sister—really, she was the only true ally he had. In occasions like this however, when they needed to keep their heads, she could just be so dramatic. "Tell me, how many of your mistresses were murdered?" Shelby flails her hand, eyes glaring as pain filled them. "You could speak to any of your children anytime you'd like if they'd give you the time of day. _You_ gave up your kids out of convenience. I gave up my daughter because I didn't have a choice."

A bird chirps in the far distance. Andre's head follows the sound with stone indifference. "Are you saying you're envious that the women who hate me most are alive and that my children hate me? Or are you envious because it wasn't your fault that these things happened?"

Shelby's lips pierce together against the cold wind. It seems like she's standing a little straighter once more when she answers. "I'm not envious. I'm terrified that all these sacrifices may have been for nothing."

Andre, a little more satisfied with Shelby's disposition, rang the doorbell. "I promise you, I will never let anything you've done ever be in vain, okay?"

Shelby eyes water at the sentiment but she doesn't let them fall. The door opens and Andre turns to find not Park Telly, but his son Wes. The Asian boy—a Warbler, that Andre knew, looks surprised. "Mr. Moretta…I didn't realize my parent were expecting you."

Andre nods politely. "Wes. I apologize this is sort of a surprise visit. Is your father home?"

"Oh yes, he's upstairs in his room. I'll go get him but please come in." Wes steps aside to allow them in. Andre let his sister walk up the stairs and inside first before going in after. Wes peers outside quickly before closing the door. "I thought you were a friend of mine. He's supposed to be here any minute. May I take your coats?"

Andre helps Shelby take her coat off along before disposing of his. The boy takes them and hangs them on the coat rack. Wes had always struck him as extremely dignified and polite; not that he expected anything different considering Park's personality. Shelby thanks Wes as Andre hands him their coats. "Wes, this is my associate Shelby Corcoran. Shelby, I don't believe you've met Park's son, Wes."

"No I haven't. It's very nice to meet you." Shelby says with a smile. Wes nods back but narrows his eyes at her.

"I'm sorry, but are you sure we haven't met? You look very familiar." As soon as the words leave Wes's mouth, his eyes snap open in realization. "I know who you are! You were Vocal Adrenaline's coach last year."

Shelby herself takes a closer look and realizes she remembers seeing Wes with the Warblers. "Oh, that's right…we took you boys on at Regional's. Impressive vocals."

"Thank you. Vocal Adrenaline was great too. Really gave us a run for our money. So naturally, I suppose we'll be seeing you at Regional's this year as well?" The smile fades just a tiny bit from Shelby's face.

"Actually. I've retired. I work for GAIA now a days."

"Oh I see." Wes states with shock; clearly he wasn't ready to hear that. "I'm not sure if I should offer apologies or congratulations so I suppose I'll do both….Uh, let me go get my father for you." Wes turns and goes up the stairs. Andre can't help but chuckle.

"Well, that's one way to end small talk." Shelby smacks him playfully, but is laughing too.

"Be nice, he was trying to be polite." A minute or two later, Park is climbing down the stairs with Wes following behind. The man looked older than perhaps anyone else in their circle around their age: short black hair almost completely grey. Wrinkles embedded along his mouth, his forehead, even around his eyes. Unlike his son's eyes, which were a crisp, hard black, Park's were a dark serene blue. A mark of his powers carried through out his family. Wes, of course, didn't have this feature but his older sister, Dawn, did. Park doesn't seem at all surprised when he sees Shelby and Andre, but considering his powers, that itself wasn't surprising either.

"Andre. Shelby." Park nods anyway before turning to Wes. "Wes, we'll be in the basement. When you're friend arrives make sure he stays out, okay?"

"Father please, we're sixteen. It's not like we're going to spy on you or anything." Wes says with a roll of his eyes. "But yet, we'll keep ourselves occupied up here."

"Good. Please pass the message along to your mother if she comes home. Shelby, Andre, you know the drill." They followed Park into the living to the door that would lead to down in the basement. Considering they were in the presence of a fortuneteller, one might assume the basement would have incents or perhaps a collection of occult items. At the very least, maybe a crystal ball.

The room was pretty much bare. No art or pictures on the white walls, grayish tile with specks of white dribbled in the coloring, and nothing else but a lone carpet on the floor. Andre knew the room's simplicity kept distractions away for when Park needed concentration to see future events.

"So, Elizabeth has brought you here once again." Park guesses. They don't have to nod or give any indication he's correct. He already knows. Park doesn't move or talk with any sort of life. Even his voice sounds flat to Andre's ears. He supposes after years of seeing events—some preventable, others not so much, it's sped up his aging process rapidly. "Your devotion to her is amazing all things considered."

Shelby sucks in a large air of breath. Andre decides to proceeds on despite it. "I can only assume you've seen him, then?"

"Of course I have. Every time Wes comes home, I see him." Park explains in his tranquil voice. "I haven't met him in person but if he's Elizabeth's son, he must be powerful. Even if he's half-human."

"How long have you known he was coming?" Shelby gains the strength to ask. Park's blue eyes flicker up slowly.

"Since early November, likely when he made his decision to come to Dalton. Not in his future of course, but in Wes's…. If he's her son, he must be strong enough to protect himself." Park's voice finally has an emotion to it. Warning. He hasn't touched either of them but it's like he's already predicting their future. Andre laughs humorlessly.

"Seems silly to come this far simply to give up."

"Seems silly to kill yourselves over someone you've never met."

Shelby tenses from her spot. "Have you seen it?"

Park takes a long, deep look at both of them. "No…" He answers, but adds more coldly. "I don't need to see what has already happened."

"Why don't we just address the elephant in the room and get it done with? We were reckless and it cost us Carl." Andre admits. He knows he's opening so many wounds that haven't healed completely. He's being the Andre Moretta that everyone sees. The one that burned Robin the night he found her at GAIA after hours. He's not sure what happened that night. Maybe he's never treated women with the amount of respect he should have. Maybe part of him hated karma for giving him Robin and then taking her away. Maybe seeing her and hearing her speak of the man living the life he so desperately wanted pushed him and his alcohol-raddled mind a little too far. They always said the elements control the person who wielded them—water was passive (Santana was just a rare case, though it could have been the half pyrokinetic in her), earth was mellow, air was adventurous, and fire—fire was passionate, if hot headed. Regardless of the reason, it was something that was unforgivable and had definitely removed any hope he had of gaining her trust. Which was unfortunate considering they soon may need her as an ally if they had any hope of keeping her safe. And it was obvious at this point he hoped more tan anything to keep Robin safe. "We know better now. We know we have to protect all sides, which is why we're here. Just because we've lost people, it doesn't give us the right to allow more to die."

Park stares at Andre with something close to anger, but not quite. Maybe it's just how he's always looked. Come to think of it, Andre's not sure if he's ever seen Park smile. "Maybe you can throw your life away on a promise to a dead woman but I can't risk it anymore. Did you Dawn is 3 months pregnant with my first grandchild? Wes is graduating high school this year—it's very likely he'll be picked as valedictorian. Life has gone on, and I'll be damned if I miss it to another depression because you two wanted to a do a favor for your nanny." It feels like Park shouted those words despite the fact they were all barely above a whisper.

Andre contemplates how he should proceed. Continuing the argument much longer will get them thrown out of the Telly's home. Letting it go will get them nowhere. Before, Park's gotten by on being a neutral party (depending on what you considered 'getting by' in this case, it was leaving with your life) but Andre needs Park on his side if he hopes to keep Sovereign at bay.

He has one last card. Andre takes a risk and sits down on the floor in front of Park. A bridge he hasn't dared to pass in the many years they've known each other. "This isn't about us doing a favor for Elizabeth, this is about the favor she did for us. Everyone." Shelby eyes look away the minute Park turns to her. She already knows what's Andre's about to say. "When Elizabeth came to America, there was nothing here for superhumans. No government, no law, no restriction. People just did whatever they saw fit. People were put in castes based off how strong their powers were. Absorbers were executed for even looking at another superhuman the wrong way. We killed each other just for the right to spill their blood. Superhumans used humans like pawns. If we're entirely honest, Elizabeth didn't just bring us an ideal when she came over—she saved our ancestors from destroying each other."

"She's been doing it for centuries…" Andre braces himself for the next words. Shelby didn't know about this because it had only been something Elizabeth had admitted to his mother. "Possibly for a millennium."

"_What?_!" Shelby's response is what he expected. He can hear the pain in her voice at this knowledge. While it was silly to think that Elizabeth had told her everything, she probably thought her age was the one honest thing she had said. The truth was, Elizabeth had never intended anyone to know but he had overheard it when he was a young child when his mother, who had always harbored a hatred for Elizabeth for taking her place, confronted her with this news. How his mother knew, he would never know, but Elizabeth's reaction gave him all the proof he needed it was true.

Even Park seems somewhat surprised. "Elizabeth was alive for less than 200 years."

"No. She made it up. She's been alive for at least 500 years. I've heard her speak Latin almost as easily as we speak English now." Andre insists. "She lied because she never wanted to be regarded as a deity or somehow more powerful because of her abilities. I have a feeling she's been sought after long before the problems we face now. In a way, she's always longed to be less than what she was, but she didn't stop because she was the only one with the power to change our world. To make us dignified and more…human."

There's a fitting silence around the room. Three different attempts to absorb this information and each one failing. Shelby realizes that in many ways, this made Elizabeth the angel she always saw her to be. Andre continues. "Is it any coincidence that now she's gone, there's a civil war brewing? Do you think it was just motherly love that made her save Kurt that night?"

"What else could it be?" This time it is quieter than a whisper. Park's eyes are glimmering against the dim light.

"Elizabeth's lost people before. Considering how long she's been alive, probably more than we could ever even imagine. Would losing a son be tragic? Absolutely. However, what I know of Elizabeth, I know if she thought she was the only thing keeping our little bubble from being popped she would let him go for the greater good…. Instead, she gave her life so her son could live and now, and I'm sure you've learned this from your son, he's possibly one of the most powerful superhuman's we've ever come across."

Andre looks Park dead in the eye. "My belief? Elizabeth had some predictions of her own—like how she wouldn't be around much longer, immortality or not and had Kurt so he could take her place. Kurt isn't just a stranger—he's our savior." Andre says. Then, he raises his hand, palm up and about halfway between him and Park. Park's eyes flicker down and then back up to Andre. Both appearing emotionless—both feeling a great inner turmoil. Shelby is so overwhelmed by what Andre has just said, she almost miss his next words. "But the only way I'll know is if you agree to help me."

Park considers his hand and then considers the whole man in front of him. Andre can only guess what he thinks of this. Andre is a lot of things—he's a manipulator, he's a womanizer, he's really too good at getting over the fact he isn't involved in any of his kids lives. One thing he isn't—it's a liar. Perhaps he's come close. Perhaps he's living something of a lie, but at least he's never spoken one.

And maybe that's what convinces Park to take Andre's hand and look into his future.

()()()()()()()()

"About time you got here." Wes opens the door for Blaine as he steps in. Wes can't help but raise an eyebrow at how slow Blaine is moving. "Um, are you alright?"

"Yeah. I just haven't been sleeping well." Blaine admits, rubbing a hand over his face. Wes closes the door and holds his hand out for Blaine's coat.

"Could I interest in some coffee then?"

"Only if you want me to love you forever." Blaine practically whines. Wes chuckles and hangs Blaine's coat on the coat rack along with Shelby and Andre's.

"Save it for Kurt, lover boy." Wes tries to joke. Blaine bits his lip and knows he's much too to try and protect his thoughts from Wes. It proves to be true when Wes makes a face. "Oh…you haven't been sleeping because of Kurt. What happened?"

Blaine sighs. "It's a long story and I don't even what to begin it without some caffeine."

Wes gives him a friendly smile. "Scolding hot as usual?"

"You know me so well."

Blaine follows Wes into the kitchen. Wes sets his mother's coffee maker up before turning to face Blaine. "So, I bet you can't guess who's here visiting my father?"

"No I can't possibly guess, and considering how much you hate guessing games, I'm assuming that was just a segway?" Blaine says, leaning his elbow on the counter and placing his chin upon it. Wes stands back against the counter with his hands in front of him. Somehow, Blaine's not surprised that even at home, Wes manages to act refined.

"Andre Moretta and Shelby Corcoran—Vocal Adrenaline's former coach."

Blaine raises an eyebrow, thinking maybe he heard incorrectly. His mother's boss and their biggest competing show choir's leader—or he supposed former leader- was here? "Really?"

"Yeah. Came together and everything. I mean, Andre's been here many times. He's been friends with my parents for as long as I can remember. Shelby's the one who interests me."

Of course it would. Just because they were on Christmas break, it didn't mean they left the competition mentality at school. "That is weird. You said former coach?" Blaine asks. Wes nods.

"Yeah, she told me she's retired and works for GAIA now. Has your mom said anything about a new employee?" Blaine shakes his head, elbow slipping slightly when he does.

"No, but maybe it just didn't come up? We've all been preoccupied with Kurt."

The coffee maker goes off and Wes pours Blaine his cup. "Speaking of which," He hands Blaine his cup shakily, only daring to hold on to the handle. Blaine grabs the actual cup with both hands and takes a long sip. Wes starts up his own cup. "Now that you have some coffee, tell me what happened with Kurt."

Blaine releases a breath. The heat of his mouth playing with the steam of the coffee cup. "Well…"

()()()()()()()

Park's finally blinks as he pulls his hand away from Andre's. These few moments are the only real emotion they get from the fortuneteller. Wide eyes, mouth parted—like a runner trying to regain his breath. Park runs a hand through his hair while Andre waits. A nervous Shelby is the one who breaks the silence. "What did you see?"

Park takes another breath and slowly recounts his vision. "I saw fire coming at you. Not just normal fire but…something strange about it. I think it could actually harm you. You don't seem to have anyway to protect yourself. A shadowy figure is causing it. I can't see its face. It doesn't burn you but someone gets in the way before it can hurt you."

"Robin?" Andre breathes, realizing this may be the thing that could cause her demise.

"I don't know. I can't see that person either." Park then glances up at Shelby. "I saw a vision of you too. You're on the stage. Dressed in black with a signal spotlight. You're singing. A girl joins you on stage—she looks so much like you."

"Oh my—" Shelby says, covering her mouth. Trying to stop the scream that might erupt from her mouth. Instead, a tear pours freely. "Rachel?"

"It must be." Andre mutters, his heart feeling a light joy at the potential of his sister meeting her long-lost daughter. "You'll get to see her…"

"But…" Park interrupts. Swallowing before speaking again. "It's not a happy reunion. The song you sing is about lost. The death of hope. The girl—Rachel, you said?—she seems lost and confused." More tears track down her face as Shelby closes her eyes. Trying not to sob too loudly. Park clears his throat. "I had one more vision but…"

"But what?" Andre prompts carefully. Park shifts uncomfortable—an unsettling display since Park didn't get uncomfortable.

"You know how my visions work. I touch that person and I can see their future… but it's impossible for this to be the future because…" Park shakes his head and sighs. Shelby and Andre wait expectedly for an answer. "Because I saw Elizabeth."

Andre doesn't know how to react to that. Mostly disbelief he supposes. Sometimes, Park's visions are wrong but that's only if something is to happen and something changes that thing from happening due to the fact that destiny was never permanent. "Where did you see her?" Shelby dares to ask what Andre cannot.

"Late at night. In a car." Park shifts once more. "She seems frantic… glancing every so often at Kurt sitting beside her and to the road. She's well above the speed limit. Kurt's not the age he is now…he's much younger."

Andre tenses. "Holy fuck…"

"It must be the night Elizabeth died… I can see a pair of red in the window." Park pauses again, closing his eyes in concentration. A few seconds later, he opens them. "I'm sure it's the night of the car accident but it ends there. I can't see anymore."

()()()()()()()

"Wow, that's…wow." Wes clears his throat before adding. "Jeff will not be happy with these developments. He was hoping to get the Kurt/Blaine facebook page up by New Years."

"Jeff was going to start a facebook page? Okay then…well, how do you think _I_ feel?" Blaine murmurs. His coffee's about done but he swirls the remainder in his cup. "I screwed up big time. I'll be lucky if Kurt gives me the time of day after break is over."

Wes rolls his eyes. "You're just being dramatic. Is Kurt upset? Yeah probably. Does he deserve to be? Yeah, he kind of does." Wes gives Blaine a tilted, entertained look. "I just don't think he realizes what a knuckle-head you can be sometimes."

"Gee, thanks."

"You know what I mean. Face it Blaine, you're an intelligent guy but sometimes, you just need a clue. And that goes over your head; you need like a dozen more. Did you seriously think Kurt was going to wait around for you to make the leap forever?" Wes's teasing tone drops as he leans further over the island. "Look…what happened with your date was pretty screwed up. Maybe it's made you afraid to love or to take risks or whatever therapist-bullshit my mother uses on her patients. You want to know something? Bad things like that? They happen. Everyone goes through them. It's kind of the crappy thing about living. That's why we have things like love though—to make the crappy things seem more bearable."

Blaine has always seen Wes as something of a mentor. Right now however, Blaine's sure he's never passed on more fruitful advice, even if he's speaking more crudely than he usually does. Wes continues speaking. "Look, I know you want to protect Kurt and be there as his friend first and foremost, but did it ever occur to you that he doesn't need a friend right now? Maybe he needs someone who will build him up and make him feel less alone. I think in his shoes, I would like having someone around who could take me unconditionally."

"Yeah well…maybe I'm not that guy because Kurt's alone right now and I haven't done anything to change it." Blaine says defeated. Wes looks Blaine in the eye, almost annoyed.

"Stop feeling like you need to prove you belong with him. Did you hear me when I said Jeff wants to start a facebook page? Clearly you two are good together. You just need to figure out a way to prove that you're true. That you're not going to change your mind again."

Blaine wants to ask how exactly he could do that when the door to the basement opens from the other room. Within seconds, Park Telly, Andre Moretta, and Shelby Corcoran are walking in, all three lost in their own worlds. Park is the first to acknowledge their existence. "Hi Blaine. Good to see you again."

Andre Moretta's eyes flick up immediately and zero in on Blaine. Blaine gives Park a nod. "You as well sir. And you too Mr. Moretta. I don't know if you remember me but I'm Robin Anderson's son." Blaine tells him with his dapper smile. Andre quickly recovers, slipping back into the role of strict boss.

"Blaine, of course..." Andre says in a much calmer voice than he feels. After all he's been through today, the last thing he needs is to see his secret son. Especially when he knows Wes, like Park's wife, is a mind reader. Andre coughs a grabs the arm of a now equally shocked Shelby and turns directly to Park. "Thank you for everything, Park. We must be going…Send your mother my regards."

"Oh yeah, we really should. I have to get home so the babysitter can go." Shelby adds, hoping it doesn't sound too forced. Park is already back to his indifferent self so it's easy for them to slip away without any small talk. Blaine of course thinks nothing of this, mostly because an idea had struck him. A crazy romantic but mostly crazy idea. If it worked, then he could prove once and for all not only to everyone else that he was good enough for Kurt, but himself.

He worked the plan in his head. Not noticing the far-off distance in Park's eyes or the way the front door slammed shut.

()()()()()()()

"That was interesting." Is all Shelby can say and Andre doesn't have to wonder if she meant the vision or Blaine being there. Andre quickly pushes the key into the ignition, bent on leaving before anything else bizarre could happen. "You know, I just realized…He looks a lot like Robin doesn't he?"

That was putting it mildly. Everything about Blaine was Robin. His smile, his hair (or at least it's color, the gel made it difficult to tell otherwise), even the way he held himself was similar to how Robin held herself. In a way, it was easy to see how she could trick everyone into believing Blaine was Floyd's son because there was barely any trace of him or Andre in the boy's appearance. It was so heavily dominated by Robin. Fitting all things considered.

"Except his eyes…His eyes are like a mixture of the two of you. Hazel gold." Shelby said matter-of-fact. The words normally would be laced with pinches of bitterness but perhaps the knowledge that Shelby may come face to face with Rachel had made her less so. Andre considers Shelby's words and realizes she's right. The hazel created was a fusion of the both of them.

The dream Andre had wanted for years lived in his son's eyes.

**And ta-da! Chapter 20 is posted! It's late (early?) now, but I assure you, I will celebrate after a good nights sleep. This wasn't exactly what I had originally planned for this chapter. I sort of changed my mind about a few things about how I wanted to handle things but I can say without a doubt, the next chapter will be a big one ;) **

**So, as sort of a milestone count. 20 chapters, 140 reviews, 96 favorites, and 220 follows. Which is all just so incredible and even though I'm sure you guys get tired hearing the same thing every chapter, I could never thank you guys enough for getting us there! My heart just bursts when I realize how many people like this story, especially considering I was so afraid no one would like it. So once again, thank you everyone!**

**ToniBalogna978- As most declarations of love begin :) I remembered seeing somewhere on the Internet (lamebook maybe?) a saying which said 'The Kay commercials lied—way more kisses begin with vodka'. But it does help the secrets come out. My biggest feat I think in this story thus far, would be making Andre Moretta into a good guy (or is he?). Hope you enjoy this chapter! Next chapter should be interesting if this one isn't. Thanks for reviewing!**

**irishflute- Always good to hear :) The Anderson scene was actually the hardest one for me to write. Namely because I have to make Robin likable despite the fact she's done some pretty unlikable things. Then of course, I have to make it so Cooper has a reason to keep this secret. I'm glad it seemed to come together well though. I think we were overdue for a good B.F.F. scene but also getting out some important stuff too. At the very least, giving Kurt some comfort from everything going on in his life. As for the minor characters—some of my favorite characters from Glee are the minor ones so I love getting them in! That and I generally don't like creating too many OC's in fanfiction, just the ones I need to like Robin and Andre. Mostly because when people read this, they'd rather focus on the actual characters, or at least I think so. Although I've read fanfiction with some pretty badass OC's too. Shelby in this is everything I wanted her to be on the show. In many ways, I think she is, in others, I wanted her to be a little more so this is my way of getting that I think.**

**It was really hard at first, and if I slip a few times in this chapter you'll have to forgive me, but I do like the writing better this way. Mucho glad I'm making improvement! Everyone has room to grow so thank you once again for helping me improve my writing. And of course, thank you for reviewing once again!**

**miss jayne76- Yes indeed I did, lol. Again, that scene was probably the hardest one to write in that chapter because I have to justify them doing a pretty bad thing—but I guess the whole point is that it's bad depending on how you think about it. They're just going to spend a little time a part—I swear, they're not that far from getting together. In the mean time, why not have a B.F.F. scene? You'll have to wait and see if your feelings about Kurt's mom are justified ;) And let's just say they can't be too careful about Kurt with said uprising coming up. The minor characters were kind of fun to pick out (fun fact, Ryan Bryan was my favorite of the three. Big NPH fan!). Like I said before, I generally don't like making too many OC's in fanfics so using minor characters is my preferred path. Oh yes, I've heard of that before! It's incredible what people can do under the thumb of authority and mass pressure, isn't it? Can't tell you yet if Robin will be introduce into the loop but I have gotten a few requests for Shelby's reaction to seeing Kurt so I'm sure that scene will work it's way in. Thank you very much for your sweet words :) And thank you for reviewing! Back to the fortress!**

**GleekyPatronusWolfyStarkid- Aw! Thank you so much! I hope you continue to enjoy it! Thank you for reviewing! P.S. I LOVE your name. It's like all the awesome things in life put into one :)**

**msdarque- Thank you! What's life without a little bit of teenage angst? Let's just say it will be resolved soon and you'll have to tell me if it turned out like you imagined ;) There's quite a bit of Shelby and Andre in this chapter too… Getting a lot of those in I guess, but it kind of makes sense since they're the only ones the other can trust at this point. Yeah, I've been sort of mean to Cooper in this story but at least he gets to be the good brother. Hopefully, I'll be able to give him a happy ending or at the very least, closure. Hope you enjoy the update and thank you for reviewing!**

**Ittlebitz- Very soon, I promise! I can only hope the wait will be worth it once it happens, lol. Thank you for reviewing!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Thank you :) Yes, I know but it needs to happen for them to get together. I can guarantee that though I can't guarantee a happy ending for them quite yet… We'll have to see! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the update!**


	21. Chapter 21

Blaine was almost done with his plan to win Kurt's heart. It was missing something though. With it being Christmas Eve, Blaine's been carted from relative to relative's house. Yet, his mind has been everyone but the holiday spirit because he just can't be happy knowing Kurt is upset with him. This needs to be the biggest, most romantic gesture Blaine's ever pulled off, so he's dug out his old guitar and is trying to learn the chords to one of his favorite songs. It may come off cliché, but if he pulls it off just right, it may just win Kurt's heart.

When he hears someone in the hallway, he considers closing the door, but the holiday spirit drives that person to stop at his door. "What are you doing, son?" Blaine looks up and Floyd is standing at the door. It's unusual for Blaine to see his dad wearing something other than his suit (currently, he's wearing some grey sweater with a pair of jeans probably twice Blaine's age). It's not surprising that his dad is trying to make a mends—the holidays always have him in a peaceful mood. He doesn't even poke at Blaine's mom at all.

Blaine's decides to cut his own attitude now. Realizing that everything wasn't what he thought it to be with Kurt has made him realize maybe it's just as much his fault things aren't great between him and his dad. Maybe it was a little too much for Blaine to expect Floyd to accept everything all at once. It couldn't be easy for him to be the only superhuman in their household. Particular when most superhumans put themselves above humans. Blaine thinks maybe subconsciously, he's felt that way towards his own father. It was part of this defensive wall Blaine had learned to build and use. "Just working on a song is all."

Floyd raises an eyebrow. "Well, you're the musician in the family but isn't that song suppose to be kind of…lusty?"

"Kurt doesn't go for lust, he likes romance. I thought Ring of Fire would be too predictable so…I'm seeing if I can make this romantic." His father doesn't tense at Kurt's name but he's biting his lip. As if to wonder if should just walk away and save himself from a potential argument or take a chance.

Tonight, Floyd apparently feels very brave. He steps into his son's room. "Kurt…that was your friend from dinner right?"

"Yeah Dad, that's him."

Floyd nods, looking a little less than amused though he brushes it off quickly. "Nice kid. Your mom seems to like him… You like him a lot?"

Blaine's not sure if he should just agree or be honest. His father's efforts are making Blaine stressed more than anything. One wrong move and this whole thing could fall apart and they could be yelling at each other once again. Blaine decides honesty is better than in difference at this particular moment. "I think I'm in love with him."

And Blaine should be upset that his father seems to take that news so awkwardly, but not a trace of anger or disappointment appears so Blaine decides to throw him another bone. It's a start—a start was better than nothing.

Blaine is just playing his guitar, letting his dad listen to what he's got so far. It reminds Blaine of the times when his father revered him as something of a hero. When Floyd saw Blaine as the apple of his eye. The legacy that would make him proud. Things had changed—Blaine could admit he wasn't the hero either of his parents had thought him to be. He proved himself to be just the opposite the night of the Sadie's Hawkins dance.

Kurt didn't want him to reflect on that anymore but whether Blaine liked it or not, it was a part of his life. Blaine however could allow himself to finally believe that maybe his shock had left him unable to act and his anger wasn't so out of control. Emotion and life were sort of similar in that aspect—you can always predict what might happen, but until it does, you're clueless. Would any superhuman, or human for that matter, react any better? Even Blaine's dad, the most in control man he knew, didn't react to things like people wanted him to. Living creatures were entitled to little imperfection, weren't they?"

"You've always been talented with music. Your mother loved that about you. She use to insist that when you cooed during the lullaby she liked to sing, you were trying to sing with her. I thought she was crazy but maybe she was right." Floyd says. Blaine bits his lip and looks up at his father. Suddenly, he's not so uncomfortable anymore. There's a glimmer in his eyes Blaine only ever sees when his dad talks about his mom. It's amazing for how much they fight now a days how that small light could still be there. "You're a lot like her you know. Compassionate. Giving. Big attitude if you know you're right."

Blaine looks down at his fingers and then sets his guitar aside. "Dad, why do you have such a problem with me being gay?"

Floyd was silent for a long time. He didn't get angry like he usually did—instead he calmly explains his thoughts to Blaine. "I don't know if you being gay was the problem. At least the whole one. I think it was more you growing up to be something other than I thought you were. Cooper didn't have any interest in being lawyer so I always kind of hoped- maybe more than I ever wanted to admit—that you'd want to be a lawyer. I actually use to hope that you'd turn out to be a human because between your mother and Cooper, I felt alone in my own family. Besides that…Ohio isn't really a great place to be gay. I was terrified someone would hurt you or you'd hurt them... then both those things happened."

The Sadie's Hawkins dance pushes in his head. Blaine decides not to push it away. He lets the memories flow in and yes, it hurts. He also starts to feel relief. He can't hide from this anymore. This is something he has to deal with whether he wants to or not. "You realize you do this with Kurt, you're putting yourself at risk of that happening again?" Floyd asks.

"I know, but things will be different if it does…"

"How so?"

"I won't let anyone hurt Kurt." It sounds half empty but Blaine persists. He knows he can't make that promise. There are people more powerful than him. Much more. Kurt is more powerful than he'll ever be. Blaine at least knows that he would die before he would allow anyone even the chance.

Floyd sighs and nods slowly. "Then that's your choice. Just don't ever put yourself in a position that you have to make that choice." Blaine makes a noise of agreement and picks up his guitar. He needs to get everything prepared. He only has a short amount of time to do so. Floyd gets up and walks over to the door, turning over his shoulder to look at Blaine. "I hope you knew that just because I had a problem with you being gay; that it didn't mean…I still love you Blaine, you know that right?"

"I know." Blaine lies, though the fact he didn't know makes the confession more meaningful in a way. It didn't erase the pain all the arguing caused but Blaine did feel a littler lighter.

Now he can focus entirely on Kurt.

()()()()()()()

Robin is absolutely fuming when she walks into GAIA headquarters. It's Christmas _fucking_ Eve. The one time of year Robin isn't forced to face this mess of a system ran by that bastard of a boss and he demands—not asks, _demands_- to see her that evening in his office.

Robin's had it. She's tired of the condescending attitude, the demeaning assignments, and being threatened with her job every second of her life. She had given GAIA every piece of her soul and allowed it to destroy her marriage, but she'd be damn if Andre got to control her life too.

Honestly, she didn't care less if she got fired. She might quit if there wasn't a good reason for her to be there.

She doesn't even knock, she throws the door open. "Just because you've alienated your entire family doesn't mean some of…"Robin trails off. Andre is sitting at his desk, tie askew and shirt untucked. She's seen this in this state before but not since their affair and even those were rare occurrences.

He also wasn't alone. A woman was sitting against in an empty chair pushed in the corner, a baby resting in her lap. Robin considers for a second that Andre may have created yet another illegitimate child but she wasn't consistent with Andre's other children. Even Blaine, who looked the least like him, had darker features. This baby was blonde, blue-eyed, and shared not one feature with him.

The woman however, Robin remembered. She was in his office the day she went in to yell at him about showing up at sectionals. Presumably his new woman of the hour. It becomes very clear why she was called here—the woman told Andre about her warning. Maybe she would be fired after all. "Robin, thank you for coming. Please sit."

Robin grinds her teeth but says. "If you're going to do it, just do it so I can leave." Andre and the woman both give her odd looks. It's not really what Robin's expecting so she returns them. "You're going to actually fire me this time, aren't you? For the stuff I said to your girlfriend?"

"What...?" The woman starts laughing out loud at Andre's confusion. The baby giggles along with her. Andre turns to her. "I suppose you know what this is all about?"

"I do actually." The woman rose from her chair, baby holding on to her as she did so. The woman walks towards Robin and extends her hand. "It's nice to formally meet you, Robin. I'm Shelby Corcoran…it use to be Moretta."

Robin's eyes widen as Shelby takes her hand. It can't be another wife—Andre was already fairly young when he married his first one. Besides, now that the connection was mention, Robin could see a resemblance that was too close to ignore. "You're his sister?"

"We share a father and not much else. Though I am the one who picks up the pieces when he meets you little heartbreakers." Shelby teases despite Robin's tensing. Shelby releases her hand to put her hand on the baby. "And this is my daughter Beth."

"You have a niece…and a sister." Robin repeats slowly, as if her brain can't process that. Until now, she believed Andre was bitter and alone. He laughs too.

"I have a brother too and a couple nephews. Is it really that shocking?" Of course it is. Even during their affair they talked about their families in the hours after. Mostly their children. Yet not once had Andre mentioned any other family members. Neither had Robin but she had been an only child, her father was dead, and her mother lived on the other side of the world.

The shock wears as Robin realizes she's not here to be fired. "So, why exactly am I meeting this sister you've never mentioned?"

The energy changed once again. They were back to being tense and uncomfortable. Andre cleared his throat and sat back down at his desk. "You may want to take a seat." He offered a second time. Robin doesn't make assumptions this time; she takes the chair closest to the desk. "Robin, we found the profile you made for Kurt Hummel." Robin freezes in her spot. She's nervous but mostly confused. The emotions in the room are changing too rapidly. She can't hold on to one and her own fear is making things worse. "You can't make another one."

Robin takes a deep breath. "You knew Kurt wasn't in the system?"

"We intentionally kept him out of it." Andre confesses. He goes through the pile on his desk until he pulls out a photograph. "This might explain things a little better."

She leans forward and takes the photograph. It answers a few questions but mostly leaves her shocked and even more confused. The picture is of a teenage (at least she's guessing around that age) Andre and what must be an even younger Shelby. Robin tries to ignore how the similarities of Andre then to Blaine now. Instead, she looks at the adults standing on either side of them. One was dark haired, light skinned, around average height with the same smile Shelby had and the same stance Andre held himself in. Obviously their father. On the other side was the same redheaded mysterious woman that haunted her vision since the day Robin learned who she was. Elizabeth Hummel. Looking pretty much the same age as she always did, arms wrapped affectionately around Shelby's shoulders.

"She was essentially our mother growing up." Shelby says softly. Shelby needs to adjust her cracking voice before she speaks again. "She was my best friend."

"I don't understand." Robin shakes her head, sitting the photo back on the desk. "I don't—why did you hide this? Kurt's spent his entire life wondering who he was and you two have known the entire time. Why did you keep this a secret?"

Andre's eyes are unfocused. Robin knows some part of him isn't here but somewhere deeper in his mind. "Because we promised her we would."

"Elizabeth?!" Robin stands, suddenly very angry as she realizes a whole conspiracy has built around not only her, but Kurt too. "That doesn't make any sense!"

"It makes perfect sense." Andre answers back calmly. "Elizabeth was an immortal. The single most desired power ever recorded in GAIA's history. Elizabeth created GAIA. You don't think people wanted that for themselves?" Robin backs away but realizes he's right. There were so many people—so many greedy, horrible, but powerful people that would try to use Elizabeth, failing that, take away her powers. "Elizabeth wanted her son to be protected. She wanted him to grow up in the only place that wouldn't seek him out—the human world."

"Elizabeth's life was always filled with danger." Shelby continues, placing Beth on the floor and standing so she can look Robin in the eyes. Shelby's eyes are watering but not a single tear falls as she continues speaking. "Absorbers, primarily ones that worked for Sovereign, tried to seek her out and take her power. To them, it was knocking out two birds with one stone—get rid of the creator of GAIA and gain a power so great people literally worshipped those with it. Elizabeth could protect herself easily."

"The black mark on her profile." Robin realizes breathlessly. A whole slew of terrible thoughts filling her head. "Oh my god, she killed them?"

"Yes." Andre states quietly. "But she didn't have a choice. If an absorber touched her, she would have died…."

Robin makes a confused face. "Not all of them would have."

"No. They would have." Shelby steps closer to Robin, a serious look on her face. "Elizabeth was an immortal, but immortality or rather what we know of it is just part of a category. Like fire to the elemental-base powers or empathy to compulsion."

"She was an absorber too. A special kind." Andre says. "Not just because she was an immortal but because her powers need energy to thrive…human, superhuman, it didn't matter where she got it. If she wanted to stay young…"

"She had to completely drain her victims of their energy. Others had to die for her to live." Robin feels like vomiting. Just the idea of how many people this seemingly harmless woman had killed. Knowing how they died. If she were ever faced with that decision, she would choose to die, what had prompted Elizabeth to pick otherwise?

It's as if the question is spoken out loud, because Shelby answers. "Elizabeth only stole from those she deemed evil. She never sought out to harm the innocent. She wanted to help them. She thought if she lived and experienced—if she could learn what most of us didn't have enough time to know, then maybe she could save the earth and bring balance to us. She truly thought it was her duty to us all to stay alive…but she knew once she gave up her powers to get married, she wouldn't be able to protect her family so… she took herself out of the system and never registered Kurt."

"But…she died. In a car accident and Kurt survived. They both should have died or out of the two…Elizabeth should have survived, not Kurt."

There's a long lingering silence until Andre answers. "It wasn't an accident. Someone had found Elizabeth and she was trying to leave town with Kurt. Someone was trying to kill them both."

"The attacker found them anyway. He destroyed the car fully intending to kill or kidnap Kurt and take Elizabeth's powers. Kurt hadn't been through puberty so he didn't have the ability to make it through the accident or…that's what we believe."

Tears started to pool at Robin's eyes. The idea of trying to save your child only to see his life slip away. The desperate feeling of being cornered and your greatest fears being realized. It was the same frustration she suffered constantly trying to save her marriage only a child's life hung in the balance. She can't imagine what Andre and Shelby must feel knowing that someone from their childhood—essentially their mother—went through this. "What we believe occurred is that Elizabeth grabbed the attacker and passed his energy through her and into Kurt. Technically, Elizabeth was being absorbed as well as absorbing and Kurt was the only one receiving energy. She gave her life up to save his."

Through the haze of information, another fact clicked together. She remembered how Trent's genes had mutated from absorbing his father, giving him extra abilities of knowledge. "And it started up Kurt's powers because his genes were mutated by the energy…and because his mother needed to kill for her energy to work….Kurt's powers mutated into powers of the dead." Robin runs a hand through her thick, curls. "Jesus, Andre, that kid has no idea. When he finds out that his mother's killed people to keep herself alive but killed herself for him to live…Fuck, he has no idea what kind of danger he's in!"

And she put him back in danger by putting him in the system. She could have gotten Kurt killed by deviating away from the system. What's worse is that Kurt could still be in danger…

Her son was in love with this boy. This boy who could potentially be killed for being Elizabeth Hummel's son.

"I haven't told anyone this Robin but things are starting to brew and I can't handle them and keep Kurt safe." Andre insists.

Robin's not sure if she wants to know anymore. A smart person would quit now before she got any deeper. A good mother would march home and insist Blaine never speak to Kurt again. This is the absolute last thing she needs to be wrapped up in.

Except now that the emotions are starting to calm, she can feel the fear radiating off Andre. It's not an emotion he likes to showcase but he knows better than anyone she can sense it. It must be a pretty serious situation if he's getting this scared, and she can feel the uneasiness from Shelby. Furthermore, Robin realizes this must have been tight knit for a very long time—they must be desperate if they're willing to trust her of all people.

Robin's already in too deep. Even if she and Andre didn't have this history, even if Shelby wasn't looking at Beth with the same motherly concern she looked at Blaine; those things aside, Robin already knew Kurt well enough to know he didn't deserve to die.

She was expecting to get fired before leaving this office; what she didn't know was that she was already roped into something she couldn't get out of.

()()()()()()()

Christmas at the Hudmel's starts fantastic as it always is. Early morning presents, long delicious breakfast, a day of just lazing around and basking in the presence of one another. Finn had even been able to talk Kurt into playing a game of NHL with him and Burt. Mainly it was to cheer the big lug up about not having Rachel this Christmas. The lone Chanukah/Christmas present lied under the tree so sadly, especially since Finn couldn't be talked into giving it to another glee girl. Kurt evens suggests over warm milk that he buys the present from Finn and gives it to Mercedes. Finn doesn't say anything. "Finn, come on. This whole 'Rachel-is-my-everything-and-I'm-dead-without-her' thing is very romantic and what not, but frankly you're bringing down the vibe of Christmas. I'm having boy troubles right now but you don't see me holding on to presents and singing sad break-up songs."

"That's different. You've known Blaine what? Two months. I've been dating Rachel since last year." Finn spits out before taking another long sip of milk. Kurt covers the hurt on his face fairly well but Finn manages to catch it with a sigh. "Sorry dude, I know things with you and Blaine are rough. I just don't know what to do about Rach."

"You could forgive her."

"It's not that easy, you know." Kurt shrugs.

"No, but you got to start somewhere. Besides, being with Rachel's never been easy." That was simply what being with Rachel entailed. Rachel didn't like to make things easy and she certainly didn't come without her baggage. Dating Rachel meant living by her rules and doing what she wanted. At the same time, living in Rachel's world wasn't exactly boring either. Actually, it was kind once you got over the annoyance. That and really, even in Rachel's world it wasn't _all _about her. Kurt honestly, could never see himself living there but Finn for whatever reason couldn't seem to live anywhere else. "Maybe you should start with admitting your part in this."

Finn crosses his arms and huffs like a child. Kurt can't help but chuckle. "I said I was sorry for lying and for losing my virginity."

"Oh Finn, as if Rachel honestly gave a damn that you weren't a virgin—well okay, she did a little bit, but don't you think it has more to do with the fact that it was Santana you slept with? Cheerleading, hot, every guy minus the gay ones wants her Santana?" Finn just stares blankly. Good god the boy could be clueless sometimes. "You don't think it made Rachel feel extremely insecure that you slept with someone who's at the top of the social ladder? You don't think she felt like she lost out to the popular girls again? Finn, you're the first person who ever chose her over them. That meant everything to her…Did that justify her going and making out with Puck, no….but do you think she'd do it again?"

Finn's expression softened, he glanced down at his feet. "No, I don't think she would… but isn't once enough?"

"Yes. Maybe it's enough for you two to grow up and work at your relationship like adults." Kurt tries to aid this with a gentle smile that Finn returns weakly. "I know, crazy idea but it has to be better than listening to Outfield non-stop."

Finn chuckles and sets his milk on the end table. He seems thoughtful for a moment before he gets out his phone. "Maybe it will be a nice uh…. Chanukah present." Kurt got up to leave Finn alone to talk to Rachel but Finn barely got two words out before Kurt heard silence. Kurt turns back around. Finn's jaw unhinges and he presses the end button on his phone. Finn stares at the phone like it slushied him in the face. Kurt didn't have to ask. "She answered the phone but…I heard a guy talking in the background."

Kurt feels his heart sink in his chest. "Maybe it's family or…" Finn lies back on the bed and curls away from Kurt. He wants to hug Finn but knows how cornered and defensive he gets when he's angry. Kurt isn't sure what to say or what to do. Instead, he takes Finn's glass and goes to refill it with milk. If Finn's crying when Kurt brings it back (and Kurt tries not to gawk out of respect for his stepbrother) Kurt just lets him go. He hates feeling helpless but his advice has proven less than helpful already.

Not exactly an ideal Christmas after all.

Kurt's phone goes off just as he closes the door. He opens it and sees a text from Blaine.

**Blaine: It's snowing out.**

It's an odd text message to get considering they haven't talked. Well, that and they lived in Ohio. So he can't help but be a little sassy.

**Kurt: What an odd occurrence…**

**Blaine: No, I mean it's like really snowing out. Have you seen it?**

**Kurt: I've seen snow before Blaine.**

**Blaine: It's special snow…just look, you smartass.**

Kurt raises an eyebrow. He moves towards the window and looks out. Actually for once, it's not snowing outside which just makes the texts even more weird.

In the darkness of night however, a small light suddenly appears. Then another. Several small flickers appear and grow until Kurt can see they form the shape of a circle.

Blaine was in the middle of the circle. His smile flashes white as he smiles up at Kurt. Kurt's look must be exactly what Blaine wanted though he can only imagine what it must look like—probably a wide-eyed expression of disbelief.

It's hard to see much but it looks as though Blaine is motioning him to come down with one hand. Kurt considers not going. After all, is supposed to be mad at Blaine. Yet, there's a small desire in his heart that's told him it's been much too long since he's seen Blaine. That desire wins out as he pushes himself away from the window and walks down.

Blaine's much clearer once Kurt's outside. Kurt wraps his arms around himself to protect from the cold. Blaine isn't wearing much more than a black coat so he definitely has to be uncomfortable. He looks like he doesn't care though; his eyes barely blink as he stares warmly at Kurt. He gasps when he realizes the small lights are actually candles. The flames were too big to be supported by the wicks naturally which only meant Blaine was controlling the fire. Somehow, even managing so many small fires at once, Blaine was gently playing a guitar that Kurt hadn't been able to see upstairs. The music hitting his ears the moment he walked outside. "Blaine, what is…"

"I may have lied about the snow." Blaine states. Kurt rolls his eye but can't hide how incredibly touched he is right now. "But I did get you a Christmas present…if you still want it."

Kurt bites his lip but nods. Blaine smiles as he picks up a slow melody with his guitar. Kurt doesn't even recognize the song until Blaine starts singing.

_You know that it would be untrue…  
You know that I would be a liar…  
If I was to say to you.  
Boy, we couldn't get much higher…_

Come on baby, light my fire…  
Come on baby, light my fire…  
Try to set the night on fire.

Kurt feels short on air even though he can see his chilled breath between them. The arrangement was different but somehow, more beautiful because of it.

_The time to hesitate is through..  
No time to wallow in the mire…  
Try now we can only lose.  
And our love become a funeral pyre…_

Come on baby, light my fire..  
Come on baby, light my fire…  
Try to set the night on fire, yeah.

Kurt senses the candle flames growing taller around them. Blaine's eyes never left Kurt's though. Blaine always looked at him with a level of respect and admiration. It was different this time—his eyes shined with total adoration. Like Kurt could go anywhere and he would follow him.

_The time to hesitate is through…  
No time to wallow in the mire…  
Try now we can only lose.  
And our love become a funeral pyre…_

Come on baby, light my fire…  
Come on baby, light my fire…  
Try to set the night on fire, yeah…

Try to set the night on fire.  
Try to set the night on fire.  
Try to set the night on fire…  
Try to set the night on fire…

Kurt's eyes begin to water as Blaine plays the final note. He doesn't seem to realize that Blaine is just as emotional. His lips quivering as his eyes swirl gold. "So?"

"It depends on what you mean by it." Kurt adds after allowing a gust of wind to fill the moment. He wants to believe that Blaine means it. Somewhere in his heart, he knows he does. Kurt can't help but think of how his entire world had been unsettled in such a short amount of time. As far as Kurt was concerned, if he couldn't be sure if this was real or just a dream.

Blaine seems to sense the fear. "It means Kurt that there's this moment when you're like 'Oh, there you are! I've been looking everywhere for you.'… For me, that moment was the day you came to spy on us. I was just too stupid to see it." Blaine adjusted his guitar to lay on his back. He cupped Kurt's freezing hand with his two unexpectedly warm hands. Kurt could swear Blaine was touching his very soul. "Until you came into my life Kurt, I was only playing a part. I was trying to fit in and be good because I was afraid if I let myself go…it'd happen all over again." Blaine bit his lip, thankful he didn't have to explain what 'it' was but instead, he focuses at keeping the pain at bay. "You're so brave; even after everything that you've learned, instead of running away, you step further into this world. You've only been a part of this place for a short time and you're already so much more of a superhuman than I could ever hope to be. I've done some screwed up things…both to myself and you."

"Blaine…" Kurt tries to interrupt but Blaine shakes his head.

"Let me finish, please." Blaine begs. Kurt nods in agreement. "I've been running for so long it's second nature to me Kurt…but running almost lost me you and I just—I can't fathom that. I know you deserve someone brave and strong; someone you can be a mentor to you but I can't do that. I just can't." Blaine's fingers gently brush over his fingers tips. His voice cracking just along the edges. "But I can be brave for you. I can gain the strength to go back and face my fears. I absolutely terrified but I'd do it for you, Kurt."

Blaine swallows, a tear finally rolling down his face. Kurt doesn't hesitate to wipe it away with his sleeve. "Most of all…even if I can't be a leader to you; you should know that I'd gladly follow you anywhere. That I'd stay by your side and help you whenever you needed it. If you'd let me that is. I know I haven't made you proud, Kurt but I want to…please, let me?"

Kurt pulls his hands back and Blaine looks crushed. That is until Kurt grabs his coat and pulls him in for a kiss. Kurt felt cold until now; now every inch, every ounce, every blood cell in his body grew hot as Blaine finally responds. He nips ever so gently on Kurt's lip and slips tongue in, the connection between them not only being expressed; but being embraced for the first time. It was like tasting water after walking a desert. Both have wanted this for so long that they use every minute until the need for air is no longer a connection. Kurt chuckles, as they break apart, allowing his own tears to fall. "I'm proud of you Blaine. I was proud to be your friend and I'd be proud to be your boyfriend. I never wanted you to be my protector or my leader, or anything like that…I just wanted you to be mine."

"I know. I know I'm an idiot." Blaine presses a kiss to the corner of Kurt's mouth and leans his cheek against his. "But I'm your idiot now."

"I got my very own idiot. Now what do I do with him?" Kurt makes a considering 'hmmm' noise, which makes Blaine gently nip his nose.

"How about you take him inside? Since the courtship ended with candles and a love song, I think I'm entitled to some cuddles."

Kurt playfully slaps his shoulder. "I thought this was you making up for being so adorably slow?" Kurt teases. Blaine pouts his bottom lip in a way that makes Kurt shake his head with a smile. "You have to be quiet. My parents are asleep but pyrokinetic or not, my dad might kill you if he thinks you're up to no good."

Once Blaine waves the candles out, Kurt leads him by the hand into the house and up to Kurt's room. What was only going to be an hour, stretched into a few until finally Blaine just told himself he'd leave early in the morning before either set of parents noticed anything. Kurt snuggles into Blaine's arms, finding comfort in the warmth of his body. Mostly, just basking in the fact that Blaine was his and for once, things weren't confusing or hectic. They were just two boys who by some twist of fate, found a place in this large world filled with so many things they didn't even know about. There were no horrible memories, hidden secrets, or judgments. Only affection, kindness, and the peace of mind of knowing that they had found one another.

And had no intention of letting go ever again.

**And they're finally together! (confetti and champagne for everyone! Don't forget the band). Although it wasn't that much based on cannon, I did manage to fit in part of the famous 'there's a moment…' quote. So yay! Although I do have to say updates may not be as frequent as college has officially started again and I for whatever reason, decided to take a bunch of hard classes in a semester (might go with that whole 'being crazy' thing I mentioned when I start a new story). In any case, I will get chapters up when I can, but my time is also mostly divided between this, Dreams, and No Other Superstar, or at least, those are the ones I update fairly regularly. **

**So with that, I'd like to thank my very patient readers, as well as the followers, the reviewers, and the alerter's for being so patient for 21 chapters! While we got some answers tonight, there's plenty more to go through so again, I appreciate you guys being patient!**

**Also, before I begin answering reviews, as an added disclaimer, I do not own the song Light My Fire by The Doors. I'm merely a writer who decided to do something terribly cliché and have a pyrokinetic sing a love song with fire in the name. Fantastic song though, wish I did write it!**

**GleekyPatronusWolfyStarkid- Thank you :) Hope it continues to please! Semi-worried about this chapter but in any case, thank you for reviewing!**

**Megachrisfan- Oh my, so many reviews! Lol. Not that I'm complaining; I appreciate you taking the time. I hope you don't mind if I just answer them in this note. Excellent call on Sebastian being a spirit, one of the only things I originally planned that didn't get changed in some way, shape, or form. As for the info thing, now I kind of think to AVPM when Snape asks about foreshadowing, lol. Of course, you were also right about Trent and Kurt becoming friends (love me some Trent/Kurt friendship!). As for Kurt standing up to the Warblers, I can tell you he will stand up to them but perhaps not in the way you would think—you'll have to see ;) Ah yes, making Andre not a complete douchebag…my great feat so fair I believe. Partly because when I started writing it, he was going to be a bad guy permanently, but ideas with this story tend to shift and change quite a bit—although I wasn't expecting that change to happen when it did. Hmm, can't say too much but I can say you're onto something with your chapter 18 review (hint, hint). Some of the questions in your last review are answered in this chapter but the ones that aren't should be answered fairly quickly (then again, for many chapters, I've been promising the boys would get together soon and it's finally just happened). Thank you for reviewing! And hope you enjoy the update :)**

**AlexaCardew- Ugh, I'm a firm believer of delivery reality checks when their needed as well as receiving them. I don't know what I'd do if my best friend didn't tell me when I was being ridiculous and Blaine certainly needed it (in both The Rising Sun and cannon). I like to believe the Warblers had an on-going bet about when they'd get together and that was why nobody told Blaine how it goes. In any case, a hundred percent agree with you! In that situation, I'd be way happier with a loving boyfriend than a sexy friend—though both would be pretty nice too. Thank you for the kind comment, and thank you for reviewing!**

**msdarque- Thank you :) I think Wes sort of helped—I think he got Blaine to stop with his 'he needs a mentor' crap anyway. And the Jesse plot we'll have to see ;) though I will confess that I sort-of-kind-of adore Jesse. Thank you for reviewing! Enjoy the update!**

**Ittlebitz- You know, I'm always a little bit worried that I put too much cannon in here, so I appreciate the comment. There are just so many scenes on the show that were perfect so I want to acknowledge them (with a bit of a superhuman twist) but I feel like that too much makes me a lazy writer. Good to know it seems to balanced well so far! Hope to keep it that way. And I actually wasn't going to make Jesse anymore than a 'lackey' but then Shelby got a bigger role so he got one too. Which makes me happy too because he is pretty amazing! Hope you enjoy the update (and hope you don't go too crazy, lol) and thanks for reviewing!**

**ToniBalogna978- Trust me, you're not alone. I'm writing the story and sometimes I have to look back and see what happened. It should start leading to answers (I know I've been saying that for a while now, but at least in this chapter there were more answers than actual questions), but we still have a long way to go! In any case, thank your for reviewing! Hope you like the new chapter!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Thank you! Not going to defend Andre because A. when this started, I wanted him to be a bad guy and B. he's done some pretty unforgivable stuff. But I will say that even though he's a pretty crappy dad, I think it's more he hasn't had much of a chance to be a dad. His strained relationship with Tatiana comes more from his divorce and what his ex-wife has said about him, he intended to come forward as Santana's father but got distracted helping his sister (and in a way less noble light, his affair with Robin) which broke Maribel's (and there for Santana's) trust, and of course, there's Blaine, and since Robin very clearly wanted Floyd to be the father, he sacrificed his relationship with his son so Robin could potentially be happy, but of course, he could have put more of an effort of being involved with their lives. It's not like Shelby who gave up her daughter to keep her save. As for his attitude towards Robin, we'll get deeper into that farther along the line. Can't say much, but I'll hint that his feelings for Robin may have started before their affair. In any case, making Andre a more understandable character has been nothing short of a miracle considering how big of a douche he was in the beginning. Thank you for reviewing! Enjoy the new chapter! **

**miss jayne76- I didn't even notice that Kurt wasn't in the last chapter until you said something. I guess I got distracted by everything at the Telly house and with Jesse. Can't talk too much about Dustin, but you're on the right track ;) Can't say much about the visions either but that will be answered probably sooner rather than later. There have been a lot of requests to see what Trent did with Kurt's powers so I'll probably address that soon as well. All very, very good questions (I especially like the one about if Elizabeth had anymore kids….not entirely sure about that one yet, so that could go either way). I'm sorry there are so many questions, but if I answered them, that wouldn't make me very evil and then the fortress would just be an empty building. But it's my hope that more questions will be answered soon! Thank you for reviewing and I hope you enjoy the new chapter! **


	22. Chapter 22

**Precautionary warning: It's not graphic but there are mentions Mention of things that could be considered triggers later in this chapter. Mainly pertaining to abuse. Again, it's not detailed or graphic but better safe than sorry. **

It's extremely early when Blaine's phone goes off. He groans and reaches blindly for his pocket, hand landing on Kurt's hip instead. Blaine smiles and drags his hand until he finds the bump in his pocket. He reaches in and pulls out his phone just as Kurt starts to groan. "Blaine, what…?

"Sorry." Blaine narrows his eyes at the caller ID. Shit—it was his mom. A whole slew of thoughts hit him as he realizes that he fell asleep in Kurt's arms. That in itself is pretty awesome—actually, it's incredible—but the fact that the sun is shimmering through Kurt's curtains and his mom is calling him tells Blaine that his mother knows he never came home last night. The only thing that keeps him from panicking is that Kurt adorably nuzzles his way into Blaine's shoulder. With a small smile, Blaine answers the phone. "Hey Mom."

"BLAINE ROBERT ANDERSON! I CALLED YOU THREE TIMES! I WAS ONE CALL AWAY FROM CALLING THE POLICE! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?!" Kurt springs forward into a sitting position while Blaine pulls his ear away from the phone. Both young men are wincing as Robin continues her yelling.

Kurt gives Blaine a kiss on the cheek and rushes to the bathroom to give him some privacy. Blaine waits for his mother to get it all out before he finally speaks. "Look, I'm sorry. I thought I'd be home before you realized I was gone."

"And how does that make it any better?! Where are you?" Blaine shifts, not sure if he wants to answer that question. His mom seems to like Kurt now, but she never exactly gave her approval for the relationship. "Blaine, don't bother lying to me! I'll find out even if I have to have your brother compulse you!"

"I'm at Kurt's. I spent the night at his house." Blaine admits. She didn't answer back right away. For almost a full minute, all Blaine can hear is running water in the bathroom.

Robin sighs—not in disappointment but rather exhaustion. "Just come home, okay? We need to talk." Blaine's heart sinks. His throat bobs as he looks towards the bathroom, his boyfriend just on the other side.

"Mom, I…"

"Blaine, I'm not telling you that you can't see Kurt; I'm just telling you to come home. I'd make it sooner rather than later because you're going to be shoveling the driveway as punishment—no powers either. I'll have Cooper watch you to make sure if I have to."

Cooper would, too. Blaine rolls his eyes. "All right. I'll say goodbye to Kurt and head out. Love you."

"Love you too. You're still in trouble."

Blaine shakes his head and hangs up the phone. Kurt peers out of the bathroom door. The pyrokinetic smiles. "Pretending not to overhear?"

"With as loud as she was yelling, I think it's impossible not to," Kurt teases softly. Blaine opens his arms up and Kurt immediately rushes into him. Blaine could get used to this— the feel of another person's body heat mixing with his much warmer one, the gentle feel of a kiss being pressed into his neck- it makes Blaine feel like nothing could get to him. He starts to believe Kurt has a power no other person in this world could have—the ability to make him at peace.

Blaine presses a kiss to Kurt's forehead before standing up to get his jacket and guitar. "I wish I could stay but I have a very angry lecture waiting for me at home, along with some snow I apparently can't melt away." Kurt laughs and gives Blaine an amused look.

"Assuming you aren't grounded until the day you die, will I see you tomorrow?" Kurt asks. Blaine manages to button up the last of his heavy jacket and chuckles.

"Of course, and probably the next day too. I'm not that easy to get rid of. You asked for it." Blaine reaches to open up the window. "Um, I guess I should go out this way so I don't get you in trouble too."

"That might be for the best," Kurt says, getting up to say goodbye to Blaine. Just as Blaine gets himself steadied on the branch, Kurt leans in to kiss Blaine's cheek and looks down nervously. "On second thought, maybe you should…"

"I'll be fine," Blaine assures him. His large grin is so bright even in the early sun that Kurt can't help but get caught up in it. "With your love, not even my angry mother can bring me down." With that, Blaine carefully walks across the branch and starts climbing down. He almost falls once or twice but manages to stumble to the ground once he's close to the bottom. Kurt releases the breath he didn't know he was holding while Blaine bows before walking off. Kurt can't stop the thumping in his heart. This is everything is ever wanted. However, his happy little dream is shattered when he hears his father's voice through the door.

"You know he can use the door next time, right?"

_Fuck._

()()()()()()()

It's been a long time since Andre Moretta last visited Maribel Lopez, and frankly, if he didn't have to, he wouldn't do it. For years now, Andre's carried a vendetta towards her; both for keeping him away from Santana and for the circumstances regarding Santana's birth. The story was so much deeper than anyone knew, but he took most of the blame to protect both his daughter and her mother. He knew what GAIA would have done to Maribel if they knew the truth, and he also knew that Santana needed her more than she needed him.

He turned down Shelby's offer to come with him; his sister is less forgiving than he is. About the time everything happened, she threatened to kill Maribel on multiple occasions. How he talked his sister into being silent was nothing less than a miracle.

And it's a miracle when Maribel actually answers the door. Her features are delicate, hair straight and let loose very much like Santana's. Her skin, as well as her eyes, is much darker than her daughter's. However, she is much shorter than Santana- right about Robin's height actually. Maybe, just maybe, he could tell himself that it wasn't Maribel's overall similar appearance to Robin that drew him to her, but every time he sees her and he doesn't see Santana, he sees Robin instead.

The woman frowns, eyes narrowing just slightly. "What are you doing here? Santana is upstairs sleeping and I'm sure you're the last person she wants to see!"

He thought maybe the holidays would linger long enough for Maribel to be at least somewhat less hostile towards him. It appears as though that was a misguided idea. "I came to speak to you, about things involving GAIA."

"No!" she hisses, a bit of Latin accent slipping into it. "I told you I'm not a part of Sovereign anymore nor will I side with GAIA. Nothing anyone, especially you, says will change my mind."

"Great. I need to make sure of it." Andre whispers and tries to make himself tall. It doesn't matter how big and intimidating he tries to be. Maribel will only back down if she believes there's a good enough reason. "Something might happen to me and whether you like it or not, it affects Santana. Don't you think you owe me at least that much after everything you did?"

"Everything I did? Hah." Maribel stands back nonetheless, her eyes glaring as Andre steps into her home. She quietly closes the door and walks into her living room without even offering to take Andre's coat. She's one of the more manners-oriented people he knows, but considering their history, it's not surprising she's so cold to him. It's only guilt that's allowing him into her home and she'll make sure he knows that. "I could have done worse to you. I was supposed to anyway. If I had continued to make a case out of everything you'd be on the streets or in jail."

Andre makes a noise that's neither negative nor confirming. "And Sovereign would have thrown you under the bus along with our daughter."

"She's not _our_ daughter. She's my daughter. I raised her, I took care of her, and I kept her out of the mess you caused."

"That's not how I recall it." Andre states. He sits down in her chair and smirks at the look of disgust on her face. Really, he doesn't hate her. He knows in a way Maribel's actions were both because of her upbringing and her need to survive. Maribel's mother, Alma, was a silent member of Sovereign—she may have even been one of the starting members. They didn't learn about this until Andre found out from a source 17 years ago that Maribel was a mole from Sovereign sent in to bring Andre down, by any means necessary. Again, he didn't want to admit it but his lust for Robin may have convinced him to take Maribel in her place, especially when it became obvious that Robin was (at least at the moment) untouchable. That in turn, made him blind to what Maribel's real interest was.

If left up to the National sector of GAIA, Maribel probably would have been executed. The only thing that really stopped Andre from turning her in was that Maribel had gotten pregnant with his child. Later, he figured out that was the plan all along—Maribel getting pregnant made her untouchable in Andre's eyes. Sovereign was ready to take Andre down using Maribel and her baby daughter but the very baby who had the potential to end him kept her mother from doing so. Maribel's love for Santana and the desire to protect her gave Maribel the power to walk away from her mother and Sovereign. All it cost was her reputation and Santana's trust of either side of the superhuman world.

Now he what he needs is Maribel's promise to stay out of the way; and her assurance she'll do the same for Santana. Maribel's loud huff brings him back to the present. "What do you want, Andre?"

"I may not be in power much longer."

"That's a shock," Maribel says, clearly not amused, yet her interest is hard to miss. "What exactly makes you believe this?"

Andre puts his feet on the coffee table just to see the twitch of her mouth. "I can't trust you with all the details but let's just say Sovereign is starting to show up again and so is an old friend—the memory of one more accurately. You probably already knew about Sovereign though."

"Not really. Madre hasn't spoken to me since I defected from Sovereign. I don't have any friends left over either so if you're hoping for information, I have none."

Andre can't really trust her but knows she's telling the truth. The only good thing about Maribel being neutral now was that she has no reason to lie to him. "Well, you don't have to be one of them to know that they're out for me and as much as I hate to admit it, you have some power over me. They might still see you as valuable."

"I'm nothing to them or you. Santana is all that matters and she's not touching this mess with a ten-foot pole. Not that she would—she's not neutral when it comes to you."

Andre uses his foot to push some magazines as well as the television remote off the table. A small rebellion for the growing anger he feels inside. "Because of _you_."

"No, no, no. I took responsibility for my part years ago. What I tried do to you was horrible and it would have ruined her if I went through with it. At the same time, I wouldn't have her if I didn't try so I don't regret it." The firm, unwavering tone in her voice shows that she's saying it because it's true, not just because it's the motherly thing to say. "Besides, don't you think you deserved it on some level? You can't come into my house and talk about what I did when you were the one who was an adulterer."

"I never claimed to be innocent Maribel, just reminding you that you weren't either." Andre sees something break in her eyes so he finally lets up. He puts both feet on the floor. "It's not your fault Santana hates me, I know that. It's frustrating because my actions…"

"Our actions," she's willing to admit.

However, Andre corrects her with a more fierce tone. "My actions have ruined my relationship with both my daughters. Things would have been so different if I just…" Maribel raises an eyebrow as Andre stops suddenly. It's so close from leaving his lips that he has to bite his lip to keep from spilling it.

"If you just what?" Maribel tries to prompt. Andre shakes his head.

"Nothing. Nothing you should be worried about. Just keep Santana out of this. You should stay out of it too." Andre stands suddenly and heads for the door. Maribel looks confused but doesn't stop him.

Just as he reaches for the doorknob, Maribel calls after him. "Be careful."

He twists the doorknob open and replies over his shoulder. "I'm afraid I can't make that promise."

()()()()()()()()

Burt's sitting at the coffee table reading the news when Kurt finally gathers the strength to face him. Kurt keeps telling himself that whatever his dad throws at him is worth having Blaine finally be his. His dad seems surprisingly calm as Kurt sits down across from him. "I let it go the first time because Finn told me Blaine was too drunk to drive home."

"So you knew?" Kurt manages to squeak. Burt lowers his paper and there it is. The evident displeasure that Kurt knew was there but didn't see until now.

"I wasn't born yesterday, kid. Kurt, we talked about this. You swore up and down that Blaine wasn't anything more than a friend. You lied to me."

"I didn't lie to you." Kurt replies in a stronger tone. His father looks on as Kurt continues. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Blaine spending the night. I told you I wouldn't keep things from you but to be honest, I wasn't sure if Blaine and I had a future until last night. He made it up to me with this sweet display of candles and played a song for me and…he told me he wanted us to be together. Until that moment, I was sure I was just going to get my heart broken again."

Burt sighs and scratches at his jaw. Just like that, he's more concerned than upset. "That sounds romantic or what-not Kurt, but are you sure you can trust this guy?"

Is he sure he can trust Blaine? Sweet, kind, sometimes misguided but overall well-meaning Blaine? The same Blaine that's helped him into this crazy world his father didn't even know about? "Yes I am."

"Cause I've been there. I know what it's like to be young and in love."

"If you're asking if I think we'll last forever, I don't know. I don't have any unrealistic expectations, Dad. That being said, if there's even a chance that I could have with this boy what you had with Mom…" Kurt drifts off and looks up at his father. According to Blaine, many people didn't understand what his mother saw in his father. Kurt wonders if anyone ever thought that way about his parents. If they did, if they could see how his father was now—how in love he still was with his mom after all these years and how that didn't take away from his love for him or Carole—then he's sure they would know exactly what she saw. Kurt swallows and continues. "Then I have to take it."

Burt's face tenses like he's going to smile but stops himself. "Well, all right kiddo. You've always done well enough on your own, so I guess I'll trust you on that. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt about last night too. Just this once. Don't think this means Blaine can stay in your room at Dalton or spend the night here whenever he wants. I'll know too, so don't try and be sneaky. Anything you try to pull, I've probably pulled in my day too."

Kurt rolls his eyes. "Okay Dad." Kurt doesn't add that he, unlike his father, has the ability to go invisible. The younger Hummel than gets up and walks around to give his father a hug. "I love you."

Burt finally lets himself smile and hugs his son. "I love you too. You know, sometimes you remind me so much of your mom—she would have told me the same exact thing."

For the first time in a long time, Kurt doesn't take offense to that statement. He just hugs his dad tighter and whispers. "I know."

Burt gives Kurt a light pat on the back and chuckles. "So, did you compliment his eyes like I told you to?"

()()()()()()()

Blaine arrives home just as Robin starts setting up the table for breakfast. She manages a glare at him though he looks somewhat pathetic—snow clinging to the hair that's managed to break free from yesterday's gel, hands clinging nervously to his guitar, but most noticeably, the dopey look of satisfaction and happiness in his eyes. That, and the feeling of content (so out of the ordinary for Blaine to be mistaken for any other emotion) radiating from him confirms what she already knows; Blaine and Kurt are together now.

It makes the dilemma that much harder. She can't tell Blaine to stay away from Kurt because she's certain nothing, especially his mother, could keep him away from the boy. Furthermore, it's not really Kurt's fault that he's the most sought after superhuman since his own mother. At the same time, she's not sure what she should tell Blaine. How much she can tell him. Her heart's shouting at her to tell him everything—even the secrets that have nothing to do with the situation at hand. Her mind's telling her that making her son worry about Kurt will only makes things more stressful for Blaine and make him more defensive too. That could be bad for everyone.

Instead, she focuses on the lighter problems. "Blaine, when you go out all night, you have to call me and tell where you'll be."

"I know, Mom," Blaine says quietly. Robin shakes her head. "I'm sorry, I swear, I was going to come home but I was held up at Kurt's and…"

"Another thing!" She fiercely cuts-off. Blaine actually backs up at the tone of his mother's voice. "If you and Kurt are going to date, you can't spend the night at his house. I didn't let Cooper spend the night at girl's places when he was your age. At least I didn't let it happen! You don't get special treatment because you're the baby of the family!"

Blaine shrinks in his place. "I'm sorry. I just…I just was overwhelmed because I finally told him how I felt. I was just really happy and I wasn't thinking. I didn't mean to make you worry."

Robin hears the sincerity in Blaine's voice and feels her anger dissolve. The concern is stronger than ever. It's hard to say that Blaine isn't special because he's the baby of the family when really; he was special _because_ he was her baby. Robin would die for her kids, she'd kill for them, and she'd keep 17 year old secrets for them. She's so scared that she'll lose Blaine to Kurt: whether that's Blaine getting killed in the crossfire or Kurt getting killed and Blaine losing it.

Even in the face of her yelling, that look in Blaine's eye doesn't leave. He's happy for the first time since—well, ever. The truth was Blaine, like her, was good at putting up fronts and disguises. He could make the world believe with just a charming smile that he was the happiest person on earth when in reality, so many things dug at his soul. Honestly, Robin hasn't seen Blaine genuinely this happy since before the Sadie Hawkins dance. In a strange way, Kurt has healed Blaine more than Robin could have ever hoped for.

How was she supposed to take that away from him? "Blaine, sweetie, you just have to be cautious okay? Kurt's going through a lot right now and you both have to protect your hearts. Promise me you'll protect yourself okay?"

Blaine's caught off-guard by the sudden change in tone. "I will. Mom, I'm not a little kid anymore. I'm almost a man and I can protect myself. So can Kurt."

Robin closes her eyes and nods. _I hope to god you mean that. _Robin blinks her eyes back open and realizes at least part of that statement is true. Her baby isn't a little kid anymore. 16 years have gone by so quickly. The small child that needed her protection now stands before her more mature than she knew most boys his age to be. Sometimes, he was even more adult than her 25-year-old son. It's the experiences, good and bad, in his life that have made him so. All this time, Robin thought Blaine was fragile because of what happened at the dance. Maybe all along, Blaine was stronger because of it.

Maybe he could handle knowing the truth. That thought enters her head for a second before she hears Floyd come down the stairs. "Smells good honey!" Floyd sees Blaine and smiles at him. "Hey son, why are you all dressed up? It's Boxing Day."

Robin pushes the thought back away quickly and finishes setting the table. "Blaine's clearing out the driveway after breakfast. Right Blaine?"

Blaine looks a bit tired, probably from staying up so late and then getting up so early. Still, he nods. Floyd waves his hand. "No one's going anywhere today. You can do it tomorrow."

"No Floyd, Blaine's being punished for staying out too late and not picking up his phone," Robin states, picking up a plate of eggs to hand to her husband as she walks by. "I'm going to go get Cooper up. Just because it's the holidays, it doesn't mean he gets to sleep the day away."

Blaine sits down at the table slowly. She hears Floyd talk to Blaine. "So, you go to see that boy last night?"

She tenses by the stairs. A question like that usually leads to a huge fight. Blaine answers back uncertainly— his waves of fear drifting into her. "Kurt? Yeah."

A beat of silence. Nothing but the anxious twist in her stomach. Blaine's emotions are the cause. "Did it work?" Blaine makes a noise of agreement. It's silent for another minute before she hears Floyd's even tone speak again. "Good work, son."

Then everything lifts. Robin takes a deep breath and can't help but smile. Blaine's happy again, perhaps more so than before, because she can feel it surround her. Blaine's happy, Floyd's happy, and she's happy.

At least she should be; but she can't ignore how close she was to telling Blaine that his real father is Andre Moretta. Nor can she ignore the potential that has to destroy the happiness she feels.

()()()()()()()

Maribel is folding laundry when Santana finally comes downstairs. "Morning Mija. If you have any clothes that need to be washed, I'd get them down to the basement." Santana doesn't respond. Maribel turns to see her daughter just staring at her. "Mija? What's the matter?"

"What was he doing here?" She asks coldly. Maribel closes her eyes and sighs deeply. "No, did that son of bitch give you any trouble? I'll rip his head off!

"Santana, language!" Maribel chastises as she starts folding the laundry faster. "He was here to talk to me."

Santana snorts. "Right. Didn't even bother to say hi to me. There's that father of the year spirit he's known for."

Maribel bites her lip. She doesn't like Andre. She never did. The only reason she slept with him was because Sovereign had ordered her too. That being said, she didn't hate him either. It's complicated but the only explanation she has is that no matter how she looks at it, Santana is half of Andre. She can dislike everything about him except the parts of him that are in her daughter, which is more than she'll ever admit. "He didn't want to wake you. Even if he did, it wouldn't matter. You'd be just as offended by that."

Santana glowers as her lips purse in disgust. "Why are you defending him? You should hate him more than I do. The guy used you to screw around on his wife!"

"Oh Mija, you don't hate him. You don't even know him." Part of that is Maribel's fault. If she told Santana the truth, if she knew everything…

Santana just shakes her head and mutters a 'whatever' and starts stomping up the stairs. Maribel calls after her but Santana doesn't even look back as she walks back up the stairs. Santana slams her door shut upstairs and it echoes through out the house. Maribel shakes her head and starts folding laundry again.

()

Santana's slams her back against her bedroom door. She pushes every tear away from her eyes. Fuck tears. She wouldn't cry another one over that man or what he did to her mother or what he's still doing to her.

"Santana?" She looks up and is surprised to see Brittany sitting on her bed. A gullible light in her features as she extends her arms surprise.

Santana smiles at her and walks away from the door. Brittany S. Pierce—the perfect cure to whatever ails Santana. "Me gusta. I need to get my mack on like crazy." She whispers as she pushes Brittany back on the bed and starts kissing her neck. Some people might say she's only using this human like her father used her mother. Some might say that because Brittany is dating Artie, she's no better than Andre himself.

The thing they don't know? She's in love with this human who's the most innocent, loving creature she's ever known. That and it tears her up inside that she can't have her.

()()()()()()()

Andre isn't an alcoholic. His father drank a lot and it was a trait even Andre didn't like to embody. Come to think of it, there's a lot about Jon Moretta he absolutely despises. Still, when Andre returns home, he takes out a brand of whiskey his father used to enjoy, settles in a lonely chair, and starts to drink.

Sometimes when he drinks, he swears he can see things his mind has locked away from him. The things he finds tend to vary. There are times when he remembers one of his father's famous punishments— two weeks of sleeping on the floor with no pillows or blankets, being forced to eat uncooked noodles for dinner (those were worse than the times he was forced to go without dinner), and the worst of them all, the burns his father would inflict on him. The burns would only occur if he did something really terrible, and his father didn't dare do it when Elizabeth was around, but his father had used it as a punishment way more than he ever should have. Thankfully, Shelby never got many of these punishments since she was a girl, but it didn't make the memories any easier to deal with. If he gets really drunk, he'll occasionally wake up the next morning on the floor with his arms covered with self-inflicted burns. Hence, why he didn't drink very much.

Other times, he gets happy memories. Lucky for him, tonight happens to be one of those nights.

_**He's fifteen years old. A friend of his father's is throwing a party and the Moretta family (Andre, Shelby, their father, and their current step-mother) was invited. It started out badly—his father was chastising him for pretty much anything he could. Andre was already on edge because he was entering week 3 of no bed rest, but his father's terrible mood was only making his worse. He feels relief knowing his father has a reputation to uphold at this party so he probably won't get after Andre much.**_

_**Instead, at the dinner table, conversation soon turns to his mother. Someone, a man by the name of Charles Cooper, mentions in passing that Andre's mother, In**__**é**__**z, recently had another baby. That's all it takes before his father is spewing all sorts of personal details about her. They mostly laugh at these little family secrets but Andre felt his blood boil. Ms. Anne refused to come to the party because she got mad at his father for his choice in punishment. He wishes she had come anyway. She would take his hand and whisper for him to calm down. She'd keep him much farther from the surface than he is now.**_

_**Shelby reaches for his hand. She pulls away almost immediately when she feels how hot it is. He can see in the reflection on his spoon that his eyes are beginning to glow gold. Ms. Anne had warned him not to take these things seriously, but now, it's all he can do to keep himself from letting go. His restraint is broken when his father tells Charles, "Good luck with that one. It's thanks to her wretched genes I'm dealing with this one over there."**_

_**This is the point he expects to start the table on fire or set the room to a boiling temperature. Instead, something he never would have expected happens. Andre can feel a calm wash over him. The anger is still there, but it's buried so deep inside that he can control his powers once more. His father's words are still biting but Andre doesn't feel them. He searches around the table for the person who's doing this. Oddly enough, his eyes immediately meet with the young woman (only a few years older than him, no doubt) sitting next to Charles Cooper.**_

_**He knows it's her. She's staring right at him. Her thick, curly-black hair was falling over her shoulders—pushed away with a blue headband. Her eyes, large and green, are entirely focused on him, yet they sooth as if they were soft with no edge. Her lips thin but shaped in such a way it's difficult to notice. Her olive-tone complexion accentuates her sharp jaw perfectly. She's the most beautiful girl he's ever seen save for Ms. Anne. Not only that- she's helping him. He doesn't even know her name, yet she knew he was in trouble and tried to help him. No, succeeded in helping him. The woman breaks her gaze when Charles sits back down. "Robin, sweetheart, can you pass me another napkin?"**_

_**The woman nods. Robin. It was fitting. She's graceful like a bird even as she hands a few napkins to Charles. "Here you go, Daddy." Robin looks at Andre once more and winks. Andre nods and looks back down to his plate. He didn't want to look away, but every moment he stares at the girl is another moment he's falling under her spell.**_

_**It's too late; he's already fallen in love with her.**_

From that moment on, he searches for that calm. All those years searching and knowing no matter what he did or whom he followed, he could never fall for anyone like he fallen for that girl.__Many years have passed since then. Andre remembers with pain in his heart never being able to reclaim that feeling. Not until nearly 8 years later when Robin comes into GAIA looking for a job. His hearts squeezes again; Robin's last name isn't Cooper anymore. It's Anderson. She doesn't even remember him and why should she? For her, it's an insignificant moment of time. An instance in life where she stopped some angry kid with daddy-issues from burning the whole place down. For him, however, it's a feeling he chases for years. One he didn't find until Robin kissed him and he took her as his lover. A feeling he loses when she goes back to her husband and gives Floyd Anderson their son. Blaine. The creation of the relationship he wanted more than anything but never got. Although, as it turns out, he's pretty close to being a crummier father than his own, so maybe it's better he's not raising any of his children.

Still, he can't help but chase the dream a little further. The only way he can do that now is to the bottom of a bottle. At least there, he can pretend he is in some alternate universe where the girl at the dinner table loved him like he loved her.

**Thus, the end of chapter 22! Sorry it took so long to get up; school has not been kind to me. A quick little note! I know some of you read my other stories as well as this one so you guys already know about it, but for those who don't, I've finally gotten a beta! And she's absolutely amazing too! Actually, it was a review on this story that had me ask her if she beta'd so in a way, TRS is our story! So thank you so, so, so much to irishflute for betaing all more stories, including this one!**

**And of course, thank you to all my readers, followers, and reviewers! Also, a thank you to everyone who has added this story to their favorites! **

**Ittlebitz- Couldn't have put it better myself! I've wanted to put them together since chapter 3. I guess chapter 21 is close enough. Thank you for reviewing!**

**LeprechaunVomitxD- Lol, I take it to mean you like it so far? Hope you continue to do so! Thanks for the review!**

**ToniBalogna978- You might be surprised at her reaction (or maybe not, I wasn't quite sure how to play Robin off in this chapter). Super happy I can finally write them as a couple—complete with cuddles and love :) Thank you for reviewing (as you always do! Lol)**

**GleekyPatronusWolfyStarkid- Of course! That's what I always say anyway, lol. Thanks for reviewing!**

**msdarque- Thank you! I liked writing a scene where Blaine and his dad were civil—even if there's sort of a sinister reason behind me doing so (you can probably guess what I mean by that). It's pretty similar to Blaine in cannon—he does stupid stuff sometimes but he always makes it up with something sweet. I hope you enjoy this chapter too! Thank you for reviewing!**

**irishflute- And another thank you to for betaing, although I tell you so all the time, lol. I wanted a good scene between Floyd and Blaine really badly! Just kind of to show that Floyd isn't all evil. Though again, there's sort of a bad reason behind why I put the scene in (you can probably guess or you'll find out eventually, lol). Thank you; I had to get them all on one side somehow and this seemed like the best way to do it. He doesn't even have a clue ;) Actually, I hate to admit it because it seems like a brilliant reference and an oblivious accident but that was accidental. I just wanted Blaine to do something with fire and candles seemed like the easiest way. I seem to be good at those, lol. Thank you for reviewing and thank you once again for agreeing to be my beta!**

**Lune- I know, this story was unbeta'd when it started. It's now beta'd so there shouldn't be any more problems. Sorry for the inconvenience. Glad you liked the story (hopefully you can enjoy more now that it's beta'd). Thanks for reviewing!**

**Megachrisfan- Thank you :) I thought the readers deserved a few more answers. It was also a good reason to get Robin and Andre on the same side. Um, kind of a spoiler for a future chapter but Kurt will be conversing more with the dead and not just Sebastian so we're on the same page ;) Thanks for reviewing!**

**Guest- In later chapters, it explains a bit more why Burt doesn't know. The only Finn knows is he found out on accident and now if he tells anyone, it could get himself and Kurt in trouble. Thank you for reviewing!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- I know! So long! At least I can write them as a couple now. Aw, thank you very much! I may have written it over and over again until I got it to how I wanted it, lol. Thanks for the review!**

**Here's Hoping- Yeah I did. Very stupid mistake on my part. I have a beta now so they're shouldn't be any other mistakes like that. Thank you for reviewing!**

**LilVampireKitten- Thank you! Yeah, I noticed the mistakes too and now have a beta so we should be seeing less of those :) It's really easy to miss and word or two when you get into the moment, lol. I'm glad you like the mystery. I was afraid people would start getting tired of it. Aw! Thank you again! Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for the review!**

**miss jayne76- Thank you my dear :) Honestly, I wasn't going to do it for a few chapters but decided now was as good as ever. We needed some Kurt and Finn bonding so I decided to put that in to. No Klaine isn't evil but even I wasn't enough to keep them apart for another chapter. I'll try but there's too much math and Spanish homework for in the fortress as of late. Thanks for reviewing!**


	23. Chapter 23

**Warning: Character death (not a main character—or even a Glee character for that matter), along with details that may be considered gore. If this bothers anyone, it may be a good idea to skip the last part of this chapter or at the very least, stop reading when you see the single parenthesis such as '()'. Thank you, and now on to chapter 23 of TRS. **

()()()()()()()

**Mass Text From David Mack:**

**Fight Club. Tonight. Same Time. Same Place. Both Warblers and Cindys welcome. **

"That's weird," Blaine notes as he takes a sip of his coffee. Kurt leans over to look at Blaine's cell phone. The two were enjoying their morning coffee date when Blaine received the text. Kurt gets his phone out and sees a similar text message on his phone. "we usually don't call fightclub during vacation. Except for that one time Thad called it because the flight to his spring vacation to Hawaii got cancelled."

"First world problems," Kurt murmurs with a shake of his head. He takes a closer look at the text as if it may change before his very eyes. Something did feel off about the text. Something Kurt couldn't entire pinpoint, but it just made him uneasy. "well, it's our first New Years eve as a couple. Do you want to go?"

Blaine shrugs. "I haven't had that much to fight about lately, thanks to a certain someone." Blaine winks, causing Kurt to roll his eyes but smile. "Do you want to go?"

Kurt considers it for a few moments. Last time he went to fightclub, he found it surprisingly enjoyable. Not just because he got to release the things that he previously hold back. Kurt learned more about his powers the night when he went to fight club, and for someone who didn't know that much about his heritage, that meant a lot. "It could be fun. What else were we going to do? My parents are going to a party, and Finn's going to Puck's. Unless you had plans with Cooper or your parents."

"My Dad's going to a clients party, and Cooper's going out with some friends from high school. My Mom's said she's going to be working late tonight, so I doubt she'll want do anything," Kurt raises an eyebrow. Honestly, he thought Robin would be watching them closer considering how nervous she was about Blaine and Kurt being a couple. Though Robin's been better since she and Kurt have become friends. Maybe she felt like Kurt could be trusted to keep whatever danger may befall them away from Blaine. "so, should I text David that we'll be there?"

Blaine wiggles a sugar packet in front of Kurt. Kurt shakes his head and smiles at his boyfriend's—and it's just the warmest feeling in the world to call Blaine that—antics. "Why not?"

Blaine pours the sugar packet in Kurt's coffee with a chuckle. "Jeff will be so excited to get the facebook page up."

()()()()()()()

Tatiana's walks out of her bathroom while running a towel over her dark hair. Dustin arrived at her apartment last night with the intentions of spending New Years Ever with her. At least, that's what he said they'd do. Ever since she's arrived, they've mostly talked about his plans regarding the revolution. It's something that previously inspired her, but now she found a little dull. Since the night she shared drinks with Cooper, Tatiana finds herself wondering things she may have never previously considered. Such as what would happen once GAIA was taken down and the superhumans were out in the open? Would Tatiana and Dustin have anything in common then? Would she stand across him and realize she didn't love him? She's had enough divorce in her lifetime, thank you very much. She didn't need any of her own.

Did that make Cooper Anderson any better of an option? Her head seemed to think so since all she could think about lately was how much she liked Cooper when she was a teen and possibly now. He's the son of her father's former mistress for god sake! Granted, they weren't technically related. They certainly had a lot in common (an on/off distain for people, a devil may care attitude, a habit of getting horny when they got drunk) except for the fact Cooper believed in GAIA—even after losing the love of his life it seemed.

She drops the hair into her hands and shakes her head. This is crazy. She loves Dustin. He's here life. Cooper is nothing but a memory and that all he should be.

As Tatiana approaches the living room, she hears not one, but two voices. "You're telling me a lot of things, Jesse, but not everything."

"That's bullshit, Goolsby! I've told you everything!" Tatiana groans. Isn't the point of the holidays for Dustin to get away from Jesse St. James annoying attitude?

Dustin huffs. "It doesn't seem like it. You're saying you have no idea why Shelby would have you keep an eye on Rachel Berry?"

Tatiana enters the room pretty seamlessly. Jesse eyes Tatiana with the same distrustful look he always gives her. Come to think of it, a lot of the people in their circle seem to give her that look. It's as if being Andre Moretta's daughter automatically made her the enemy, when in reality she probably despised him more than they did. It's fine because from the sounds of it, Dustin isn't very trustful of Jesse right now.

"Rachel's the competition. Spending time with her can only benefit Vocal Adrenaline-"

Dustin snorts and holds up his hand. Jesse shuts his mouth with a glare. "Let's just stop there okay? You may think you're putting _Cabaret_, but it's actually _The Amazing Spiderman_ musical and it sucks. " Dustin says, his tone so cold that even though he's speaking at an even level, it feels like he's yelling. Tatiana wonders if she should leave in case things start to get ugly. Jesse runs a hand through his hair, his jaw setting in an unreadable way. Contrary to what Dustin says, Jesse is an amazing actor. He has a perfect poker face and eyes that can hide and reveal expression. Tatiana finds it more difficult to trust him than anyone else she's met from Sovereign. At the same time, she didn't see how anyone from GAIA, especially her aunt, could trust him. To her, there's nothing more dangerous than not knowing what side someone was.

Jesse breathes a heavy breath. It comes out as annoyed. "Isn't obvious?" Tatiana tenses. Tatiana descent into Sovereign hasn't been clean. She's destroyed her relationship with her father and she gave up any chance she ever had of getting to know Shelby. That didn't mean she wanted to reveal information that could potentially harm them. She's not sure if she can in all good conscious allow Jesse to reveal details that may harm her innocent cousin. "Rachel's in the same show choir as Santana Lopez. GAIA knows something's up so she wanted me to use Rachel to protect Santana."

Tatiana relaxes. Dustin considers what Jesse's just told him. His glance is narrow and distrustful. He gets up close to Jesse. Her fiancé towers over the high school student. Jesse holds his look though Tatiana knows he's on the edge of breaking. It's like watching a scene play out and oddly enough, she's not sure whom she's rooting for.

Dustin breaks out into smile. "I think you should think long and hard about which side you're on, St. James. It'd be a shame if you got caught on the wrong side when this war finally breaks out." Dustin reaches out a hand, but Jesse steps back just before it touches him. Dustin frowns. "Get out. Now."

Jesse shakes his head, but didn't waste opportunity. He stomps out the door, slamming it shut behind him. Dustin turns to face Tatiana. Dustin allows his stance to drop; suddenly he's calm again. He's even genuinely smiling. "Sorry, had some unfinished business to attend to. How do you feel about breakfast?"

Tatiana feels very weary. There's something in how fast Dustin transitioned his emotion. She pushes it back. He's her fiancée. He's dangerous to a lot of people, but not to her. She nods and smiles back. "Sounds good."

()()()()()()()

Andre comes into work with his sunglasses on, even though it's very nearly evening. It's not that's hungover—though the situation he's in is nothing short of stressful, he still refuses to become an alcoholic like his father—but rather, he's hasn't been sleeping well. He hadn't slept well in a little under two decades, but lately he's found it especially difficult. Perhaps it's the looming fear of losing his job, or the much bigger concern of his government losing it's stability. It's more likely because the woman he loves is working close with him now on a daily basis. He and Robin weren't fighting or even necessarily annoyed by each other now, but being near her still hurts after all this time. He's starting to wonder if this childhood fantasy of living his life with Robin has been there for so long, it's almost a part of him now, just as he would always be a part of her youngest child.

When he enters the information office, Robin is giving directions to Jeremiah. He pushes his sunglasses on top of his head and waits for her to finish. This is the second day she's working since Christmas, but Andre had gone yesterday to visit Al Motta and his annoying little daughter. Al Motta was one of GAIA's most powerful allies but it seems as though Sovereign was starting to speak more to his business practices. Andre couldn't afford to turn a blind eye to the supposed mobster, but without Motta's support it would difficult to keep support from some of the other influential families, and right now, Andre needs all the friends he can get. Robin looks up from the computer. She's looks almost as tired as he feels. She twists her curly hair into a ponytail and gives Jeremiah a parting comment before walking over to Andre. "You look like you had a merry Christmas."

"I could say the same thing about you," Andre responds. Robin gives him a weary, unsure smile. "should we work in my office?"

"You're the only one out of the two of us that has one." Robin follows Andre back to his office. It's a trip down memory lane. Many years ago, Robin frequently visited his office to work as colleagues and later on, discuss where they would meet for their late night rendezvous. Andre remembers every detail; can smell the scent of the perfume she use to wear and how he associated it with belonging. Home. It's odd because while it feels like he knows everything about her, she's just beginning to learn who he is. At least she didn't hate him anymore.

He closes the door behind Robin. She stands off to the side awkwardly as Andre walks to his desk. "Progress report?"

"Not much to report, I'm afraid. If Sovereign's moving in, they're moving cautiously. For a group that want superhumans to be so vocal about their status, they're certainly quiet about who they are."

Andre sighs and rubs a hand through his hair. "What about Ryerson? Did you find anything out from him?"

"Sadly not, though not from any lack of talking. We'd have to torture him to get him to shut up. He just didn't know anything. Turns out Sovereign didn't want anymore to do with him than we did. I know that's not what you wanted to hear, but finding Sovereign members is like finding a needle in a haystack," Robin sighs, showcasing her own frustration at the situation. "you have no idea who specifically would target Elizabeth?"

"Everyone." Andre responses in an even tone. Robin clenches her jaw and glares him down. He shrugs. "It's true. She's had entire lifetimes to make enemies. Enemies I'm sure I don't even know about."

Robin groans and throws her hands up in the air. "Fantastic! How the hell are we supposed to protect Kurt if we have no idea who's after him?! Didn't you plan for this at all?"

Andre shoots her a less than amused look. "Planning's impossible in this situation. We once planned everything to the last detail, it cost my sister her fiancée's life." Robin anger breaks at the confession. She looks guilty as she crosses her arms. Apologetic maybe, but Andre realizes their relationship isn't repaired quite that much yet. Instead, they take a moment to calm down, so they can reevaluate.

Before that can happen, Robin drops a bombshell on him. "Blaine's dating Kurt," She says. Andre head flicks up at that. He didn't believe her at first, but once he sees her fear-ridden expression, he knows it's not a lie. He rubs a hand over his worry-lined face. "It happened sometime last week. I tried to discourage him from it, but I should have known what that would accomplish. All I can say is they seem very happy together."

"But you're scared?" He points out, to which she nods. It does explain why she probably hasn't slept much lately. "You should be."

Robin pinches the bridge of her nose. So perhaps they need another moment, but Robin is full of surprises today. She crosses over to the empty chair and sits down. "Remember the night in the file room? When you burned me."

Andre pauses, his stomach turning in the most dreadful way. "Yes… I am sorry for what occurred that night."

"That's a completely different issue all together, I'm not sure if I can forgive everything that happened," She says speaking of course about the burns he had inflicted on her in his drunken rage. Though she seems genuinely surprised that he apologized. She pushes beyond that point. "but I have to wonder—do you really think…uh, did you mean it when you said that…" Robin swallows and forces it out. "Do you think I raised Blaine wrong?"

He's completely shocked at her question. Maybe months ago, he would have responded with a yes purely out of jealously. That being said, as tough as things turned out for Blaine being raised by Robin and Floyd, he couldn't help but wonder how much worse off he would have been under his care. He certainly would have been in more danger. "You did the best you could. I certainly can't make any judgments on parenting."

Besides, all things considered, Blaine's a pretty good kid. Andre couldn't help the rush of pride he felt seeing Blaine sing his solo at Sectionals. He couldn't help the little bit of joy he got hearing Robin speak of his sports and hobbies. Tatiana's a mess and Santana hated him. The good thing about Blaine not knowing that Andre was his father was that Andre could pretend their relationship is somewhat stable. That, maybe one day, they could meet and Blaine would want to do so—but if he did, it would only be because Robin shaped him to be so. Robin bites her lip. "You understand why I did what I did? Why I couldn't take him away from Floyd?"

Andre understands it. If Robin loves her husband nearly as much as Andre loves her, then he absolutely understands. It didn't mean he liked it. "It seems ridiculous to worry ourselves over it now." He says. Robin nods in agreement.

"You know, I didn't realize until you let me go through the files that Maribel was…" She didn't finish the sentence. She didn't have to. Again, they weren't at the point of apologies, but he accepted whatever she gave him. It's not much, but it's better than what they had before. Robin's phone goes off. She reaches for it with swift ease. "I had Jeremiah check a few profiles to try and get a lead on something."

"I thought you said the interns couldn't be trusted?" Andre asks with an entertained smile. Robin smiles back.

"Not with important things, but they're useful for tedious tasks." She jokes. Robin looks at the text and frowns. Her grip tightening on her phone. Andre tenses.

"Something wrong?"

Robin lips part slightly. She narrows her eyes and looks up. "Do you know anything about Dalton and Crawford having a fight club?"

()()()()()()()

Trent sees the text and deletes it without much thought. He never really went to Fight Club before, and he wouldn't be welcomed tonight. Barely any the Warblers talked to him after what happened with Kurt, and none of them would want to fight him anyway.

It's unseasonably warm. Otherwise, he wouldn't be sitting on the old swing set in the backyard. His grandfather had talked about taking it down pretty much every day until he passed away. His grandma didn't feel that strongly one way or another, but knows Trent has a sentimental attachment to the swing-set so she lets it remained. His grandmother's tough as nails and is about as sassy as they come, but spoils Trent at every chance she gets. Too bad the things Trent wants the most are unattainable.

Trent likes the swing-set because he can go back to a time before his parents were dead and he knew what loneliness being an absorber would entail. It's a place where he can be a kid. Not a human or a superhuman, but just a kid. He didn't care that he looks ridiculous sitting in on it or that the metal holding the swing up is rusted— this is his oldest and dearest friend.

Well, almost…it depends on what you mean by friend.

"You still have that thing?" Trent looks over to the yard next door. A girl his age is standing at the fence. She's wearing an obscene outfit considering the weather. It's a tight redress with matching high socks, a way-too thin leopard print jacket, along with a bright pink beret that sits upon her head. Her face and features are narrow, hair honey brown, with eyes a sparkling black. Like with most things, she glances at the swing in disgust. "Ugh, you're going to get lock jaw from that thing. Or AIDS."

Trent bites his lip to stop himself from giggling. "You can't get AIDS from a swing, Sugar."

Sugar Motta glares him down, but jumps over her fence. Not in the way one might think—she holds her body up in a handstand, and then flips over on her feet. Her wrists bend in almost unnatural ways to assure she does, but when she lands she just cracks the bone and walks forward. The Motta's have lived next to his grandma pretty much since Sugar was a baby. Trent and Sugar have been semi-friends since Trent was fourteen, about a year after he moved in. The rest of the time, he was recluse and quiet. He really wanted nothing to do with the small neighbor girl, but she forced her way into his life and as they grew older, into his heart. "Whatever. You're still dumb for playing on it. That thing's like a billion years old. Daddy bought me a new one every year."

Trent did chuckle this time. "Well, we're not all 'garbage men' like your dad," He responds, taking too much joy in the little huff of air that blows from her nose in annoyance. He looks down to the ground and just now notices that she's wearing leopard print high heels—in the frost of all places. "did you get the fight club text?"

Her eyes narrowed as she huffs again. "_No_. I don't get invited to fight club. I was kicked off the Cindys earlier this year because they were jealous of my talent," She says. Considering how highly Sugar thought of herself, and how much she can be to take at times, Trent knows that's just a cover. Not so much because Sugar actually believes it (though sometimes he wonders), but rather, because it's her defense mechanism.

She's a freshman at Crawford and probably the only superhuman not in the Cindys. It said a lot that they wouldn't take her since Sugar's cat reflexes and flexible bone-structure made her a perfect dancer. Then again, he imagines Sugar may have been less worried about following a dance routine, and more worried about being part of a clique. Trent didn't see her nearly as often as he use to as they almost never had weekends home that lined up, but every time he did, he got the feeling she didn't like Crawford very much. Lately, he's been feeling a similar way about Dalton. "Oh, well it's on tonight. I'm not going."

She shrugs, trying to feign disinterest. _1, 2…_ "Why not?"

Trent loses a bit of his smile. "because they found out I'm an absorber."

Sugar finding out had been a fluke like it had been with the Warblers. When he first moved in, Trent would watch from the swings as Sugar walked along the top of the fence. At the time, he was so stuck in his traumatized shell he hardly noticed her, but because Sugar lacked the ability to shut-up, she almost always talked to him. Eventually, he started listening and even talking back. One day, Sugar made a rare misstep and fell. Then, he didn't know she would land on her feet so he tried to catch her. The touch was short and most people didn't notice it, but Sugar had. He still remembers the way she looked at him with wide eyes and asked _'What the fuck did you just do?'. _Another thing that set her apart from most people was while she was afraid of the initial action; she didn't become afraid of Trent. In fact, for two weeks, she bombarded him with questions and requests to steal energy from her enemies.

Now, they were older and Sugar is more aware of how absorbers are supposed to be seen. She's so self-interested but her little bubble breaks when Trent tells her that little fact. "Are they picking on you? I'll slap a bitch for picking on my T."

He shakes his head. "They're ignoring me. Most of them, anyway."

Sugar wiggles her nose in distaste and crosses her arms. The wind whistles in the distance. A dog barks and it fills the silence. "So, you'll be alone for New Years?"

"Nana and I. Not exactly the way I wanted to bring in the New Year, but…" Trent shrugs again. Sugar makes an unexpected gesture of good will. She sits on the empty swing next to him. Her bare knees shake together from the cold. "…aren't you freezing?"

"Of course I am." Trent takes his coat off and lays it over her lap and knees. She didn't thank him, but her fingers grasp the coat like it's the most valuable thing in the world. It's cold, but Trent feels a little better about himself for doing it. "Daddy says big things are about to happen."

Trent tilts his head. He's never really liked Al Motta. The man was intimidating and had no qualms about using that fact. He's also heard him say things about absorbers that were less than nice. He tries not to take anything he says seriously, but Sugar wouldn't bother bringing attention to something that wasn't her if it didn't mean something. "Big things? What big things?"

"How should I know? Daddy never trusts me with anything. I just know…" She stops, looking down at her hands warming in Trent's coat. "…I have a bad feeling about it."

Without warning, Sugar leans her head on Trent's shoulder. He feels the energy from her body seep into his. It doesn't keep going like it did for Kurt, but it's more like a shot. His body adjusts to the next powers, but Sugar nuzzles her head against his shoulder even though she knows what's just happened.

He's touched as well as confused about the situation. Sugar's not a touchy-feeling kind of person; this bad feeling must be really scary if she's seeking comfort. On the other hand, so many people are afraid to touch him that he relishes the fact that someone isn't.

It's one of the few reasons he can see past her difficulties. It's how he's come to care about, maybe even love, Sugar Motta. The touch is more than strong enough to drown out why it occurred.

()()()()()()()

Fight club starts two hours before midnight. Kurt and Blaine walk in hand in hand, and that's met with a chorus of girlish screams, not all of them from girls. Jeff demands details while Nick, Thad, and David offer congratulations. Wes is even feeling gracious enough to use a makeshift gavel (his shoe) to declare a couple in the name of the Warblers. However, none of them are there to play friendly. They're there to fight.

Blaine fights against Jeff first. Kurt blames himself as it become apparent some of the fierceness is gone from Blaine's fight, but at the same time, he takes it as a sign that Blaine isn't as angry as he use to be. Jeff beats him and Blaine just laughs it off.

A few more fights and Kurt is paired off against Renee, a Cindy. Her powers of speed give him practice aiming when throws things with his telekinetic powers. She jumps over the rusted barrels he throws, and dodges over the dropping pieces of wood. He didn't see her approach him, but after she gets in her punch, he turns himself invisible to avoid it. He can't hope to grab her close range, so instead he focuses on getting away from her and tossing things until finally, he hits her and wins the match.

"Damn it, Hummel! I was on a streak!" She screeches. Kurt smiles proudly as the Warblers rub his victory in the Cindys faces. Kurt didn't get much of a chance to enjoy relish the victories though as Blaine grabs him by the wrist and starts pulling behind.

"Blaine, what…?"

"It's a secret." He says with a smile. The Warblers and the Cindys whistle in the background. One of the Warblers—Jack more than likely—shout 'Get it, Anderson!'.

"Yeah, except it's not…" Kurt allows himself to be pulled until they go around the boxes in the corner. Blaine moves a few over to reveal a trapdoor on the floor. He reaches down and pulls it open, gesturing for Kurt to go down. Kurt rolls his eyes. "God help you if there are spiders down there."

Kurt finds the beginning of the ladder and climbs down. Its pitch dark so has to feel around until his foot hits the floor. Kurt backs away and hears Blaine shut the door before climbing down. He didn't hear Blaine hit the bottom, but he does hear him mutter, "hold on a second…"

Something screeches and creaks until finally, Blaine blows some fire into what appears to be an old lantern. The room illuminates dimly but Kurt can see the basics. A very small room with names, curses, and poetic statements carved into the wall and a very old and torn mattress lying on the floor. Blaine sets the lamp on the ground as well. "I don't know what they used this room for back in the day, but now we kind of use it as a get away or a hang out during the long fight club sessions."

"Uh-uh." Kurt clicks. The bed suggested the uses for this room weren't quite so innocent. "Please don't be offended, but there's no way I'm sitting on that bed."

Blaine gave him an understanding smile. "Honestly? I wouldn't recommend it."

"Then why are we down here?" Kurt questions. Blaine hums and stands up straight. Wiping the dirt off his clothes before answering.

"Because I've been dying to do this…" Kurt is about ask what, when Blaine's pushes him against the wall. His mouth attaching to Kurt's as he kisses him deep and wanting. Kurt is surprised at first, but he wraps his arms around Blaine's neck and kisses him back. The other boy smells strongly of sweat. His body is also ten times warmer than it is on a regular basis, and that's saying something since it's Blaine. Kurt still holds on tighter and licks his way into Blaine's mouth. Blaine makes a quiet moan and sucks on Kurt's tongue.

Kurt whines and presses his body up against Blaine's. Blaine shallowly thrusts against him, which makes Kurt break the kiss. The two take deep breathes, the air mingling between them. Blaine is awaking something in Kurt that he didn't know existed—pure desire. At the same time, he's nowhere near ready to take this farther, let alone in a filthy room with all their friends upstairs. They have after all, only been dating a week which isn't near long enough for Kurt to toss his morals aside.

At the same time, he feels like he's known Blaine forever. He's never believed in fate before, but to him, this is the path he's been following for so long. This is worth all the pain and confusion he's suffered. It's as though destiny has brought him to be with Blaine, and right now, he can't thank destiny enough.

The boys laugh at their mutual silence. Kurt laces his fingers with Blaine's as he presses soft kisses to his face. "This is going to sound like a terrible pun, but I think we should cool down."

Blaine laughs so hard he snorts and nods. "Okay, yeah...but you should admit this place isn't so bad."

"It'd be very romantic if it didn't scream bedbugs and imprisonment. I, for one, don't know how I can stop myself from jumping your bones knowing our friends are just above us."

"I didn't know that thing turned you on." Blaine teases as he presses another kiss to Kurt's lips. When he pulls away, he frowns and looks up above him. "Doesn't that seem weird to you?"

Kurt raises an eyebrow. "At how close they are with us making out? Didn't I just say that?"

"No, I mean, how quiet it is." Kurt listens and realizes that Blaine is right. It almost seems like there's no noise coming from up above. No sounds of fighting or the joyous laughter they heard before. Blaine pulls himself from Kurt and leans down to grab the lantern. Kurt follows him back up the ladder to check things out.

They get halfway up when they finally hear a voice speak. Kurt gasps. "Blaine, is that-?" Kurt can see Blaine's paled in the darkness. The two continue climbing up and Blaine throws open the trap door. He helps Kurt out of the door before he closes it. Blaine hands are shaking where he's holding the latern. Kurt grabs them and gives him a reassuring smile.

Blaine sighs and smiles back. They get up and walk around the corner. Sure enough, Robin is standing in front of Wes and Katherine, lecturing them in a low and deadly voice. As if she can sense him, Robin turns and faces Blaine. It's amazing how the pyrokinetic seems to shrink as his mother's eyes narrow.

"And you! Blaine Anderson!" Robin yells as she stomps towards him. Blaine squeezes Kurt's hand, while Kurt stands tall. "And Kurt Hummel! What the hell were you two thinking?! Didn't you realize how dangerous it is to do this? This isn't your property and you kids have been knocking it around like it's some kind of toy!"

"Robin, please. It's not like that." Kurt tries, but Robin doesn't seem to be hearing him.

"I don't care what it is! What if someone filmed you kids doing this? Then everything we've worked hard for would be destroyed!"

"Mom, it's just supposed to help us control our powers better. It's helped Kurt and I out a lot." Blaine adds weakly. Robin shakes her head in disbelief. "How did you even find out about this?"

"Never mind that. It's irresponsible. It's dangerous, and it's—"

"Robin! I need your help NOW!" The shout is from outside the warehouse, but it's so loud and frantic that everyone can hear it. Robin didn't waste another second as she runs out of the warehouse. Kurt, Blaine, and every other Warbler and Cindy, despite their better judgment, follow after her to see what the commotion was.

Robin unintentionally leads them to the side of the warehouse and through a thick patch of tall grass. Blaine's lantern shines a light on the silhouette. Andre Moretta is leaning down in the grass, his hands down where it's difficult to see until Blaine lowers the lantern there.

Kurt and Robin gasp simultaneously. He covers his mouth to stop himself from screaming. Blaine drops the lantern in shock and clutches onto Kurt tighter. The Warblers and Cindys are crowding around, but no one has seen what they just witnessed. The air feels so much colder than it did even before. His body more aware of his breathing, constricting but existing, than it's ever been before.

"Blaine," Andre finally says in a thin but authoritative tone. "I need the light. Get it back."

Blaine swallows and can't move. Kurt knows Andre is right, so he releases Blaine and picks up the lantern. Blaine's shaky hands accept the device and he blows more fire into it. Blaine's hands are much too unstable to lift it alone, so Kurt puts his hand over his and helps.

()

The light is on Andre and the grass again. Now everyone can see. Many of the men back up, their harsh whispers cutting through the unforgiving winter wind. Some of the Cindys scream and gasp, others begin to cry. For lying in the grass in front of Andre is one of their own. Her eyes wide in obvious fright. Her formally tanned skin is paler while her lips have already become blue. Her arms are covered with cuts and blood. The most disturbing sight is the two very deep slashes against her throat. It makes a perfect X at the base where her trachea is. Sprinkles of blood are on her face and throat above where the X is, but below the X, blood is running everywhere. It leaks over her chest and stains her shirt, creating dried clumps in her long dark hair. Kurt can tell from the splatter that the blood squirted from her throat at first. Now it drains calmly like a fountain. Kurt takes one look at the injury and knows there was nothing they could do to save her. Even if they found her in time, all it would have done is force them to watch her die.

Kurt buries his face in Blaine's shoulder and tries to keep the images of his mother's accident at bay. He feels Blaine presses his face into his hair, perhaps escaping from some memories of his own.

"Kids, I need you to go back into the warehouse until your parents are contacted. Stay together and no one leave each other's sight. Nobody touch anything either! This is being treated as a murder scene." Robin calls out in a strained voice. It takes a few more attempts, but people start moving towards the warehouse. Kurt can hear Katherine sobbing into David's shoulder as they fade away. He and Blaine should follow, but they have the only light source. Robin sighs. "Andre, do you know who this poor girl is?"

Kurt forces himself to look again in case he can help identify her. A pained groan leaves his lips. It's not just because the amount of blood reminds him of his mom's death or because this scene is gruesome at best. It's because Kurt does in fact know the Cindy that was killed tonight. It's Renee—the girl he fought earlier.

There's no real proof to back it up, but he knows in his heart it's true. This girl didn't die from some random act of violence. She was killed to send a message to Kurt—someone is after him, and they'll do anything, even kill, to get him.

**And there we have it! As I have been with many of my updates recently, I apologize for how late this one is. My life's been consumed with a lot of math and Spanish lately, as well as I kind of had to figure out where I wanted this story to go in the long run. I think I have it figured it out now. Along with this, I've started compiling a guide on superhuman terminology, genetics, and powers. Actually, if there's anyone reading this that's super knowledgeable about genetics (I know a few things but I'm a little uncertain about a few things), I would appreciate it if they helped me straighten a few things out :)**

**So, with that all in mind, a huge thank you to my readers, followers, reviewers, and to the people who favorited this story. I'm sorry once again this update came late, and I appreciate your patience and support!**

**Megachrisfan: Oh my, looked at your review and realized how long it's been between updates! Sorry again! Yes, I wanted to get a bit more Kurt in but it gets difficult with all the different storylines going on. Hopefully, as they combine together, that won't be so much of an issue. I know after this chapter, she'll have to tell one of them, if not both, what's going on now. Thanks for the review!**

**Ittlebitz: Isn't that weird? I totally started this out intending to make him a bad guy and then one day I decide to make him Shelby's brother and then…well, I sort of ran with it. Can't say I regret it. Isn't it weird that I finally get them together in this story and then they break-up in cannon? Ugh, my time doesn't match very well, but they're sticking together in this one. Thanks for the review! Sorry the update came so late.**

**potterwands: Thank you, and yes, I know—a very bad habit of mine early on. Currently working on it. It's gotten a lot better since I've started working with my beta, but I need to go back and fix my previous chapters at some point. I was hoping to do it once this story was done but…it may happen earlier. Thanks for reviewing!**

**msdarque- Thank you :) Yes, I know, but I can't see Robin just letting him get away with it either. I loved getting in the dad-moments on both sides though. Andre's back story is probably the only thing I haven't completely changed. Although I have him a little less in love with Robin originally, I kind of like this direction better. Thank you very much for reviewing!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- I like to pack the in, don't I? Lol, you and me both in regards to Klaine! As for Andre, I think I'm meaner to him than I am Blaine and Kurt in this at times. Although at least he's a good guy now. Got some exciting stuff planned ;) Can't wait for you to see it! Thank you for reviewing!**

**LucyBethan8- Thank you very much! Sorry the update didn't come soon though. Curse you real life! Thank you for reviewing :) Hope you continue to enjoy!**

**miss jayne76- Aw, thank you as always! I'm kind of shocked that's he's turned out this way myself. Shocked, but I think he needs a hug after everything he's been through. Yeah, Blaine kind of did get off easy, didn't he? But I kind of wanted this to be happy for him. Oh, Dora's a good thought! I like to watch the movies in Spanish to help learn. Also, I've become quite the Shakira fan :) Math hasn't been too terrible—though I did get a tutor to help me through it. May take you up on the offer if it starts to go sour (4 weeks left, thankfully). Not many questions answered this time around, but the next couple chapters should be question answering ones. Hope you enjoy the update! I know you were really looking forward to this one :) Thanks as always for reviewing! **

**Cosmos Angel and Yami Chaos- Thank you very much! Hope you like the update :)**

**Marierux- I'm assuming that's supposed to be a heart and ff didn't let it happen (it does the same thing when I write it in here. Not sure why, but there you have it). In any case, thank you! Thanks for reviewing!**

**thexkat- So I've seen! I appreciate you doing so. And I appreciate all the kind comments! Seriously, I felt so warm and fuzzy after reading this! Actually, as well as extremely kind, the comment about it being a novel made me laugh because a lot of the ideas that I've used in here are ideas I've used previously in my attempts to write a novel that just never got finished. The story itself just never came to be, but I'm happy the ideas get to live on here. But anyway, love having you as a fangirl, lol. Thank you so much for reviewing and following my stories! Hope the update was worth the wait :) Thanks.**


	24. Chapter 24

Kurt and Blaine sit very close together in the warehouse, waiting while Robin and Andre deal with everything. Parents come to pick up their children, including Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo—Renee's parents. Kurt covers his ears at the cry of anguish Renee's mother releases. She's outside the warehouse, but it pierces his eardrum nonetheless. It's too much like the way his mother screams in his dreams.

Blaine holds him close. They'll be among the last to leave, as they won't go until Robin gives them the okay. Blaine's arms are strong around Kurt, but the light tremor in them lets Kurt know that Blaine is going through his own mental hell of memories. All they can do is cling to one another and hope they disappear.

The warehouse is very nearly empty when Robin appears. Blaine is the first to acknowledge his mother. "Can we go yet? We just want to go home?"

"I know, baby," Robin says in a soothing tone, "but before we go, Andre and I want to talk to Kurt."

Kurt doesn't look up from Blaine's shoulder, but he answers. "I already told you who she was and that she was fighting me earlier. I don't know why anyone would hurt her for that, but—"

"No, Kurt, this is something else. Could you please just come with me?" Robin asks, reaching out her hand. Kurt looks up and stares for a long time. He doesn't want to see Renee's body again. He's almost certain that's where Robin is taking him, but if there's some way he can help the poor girl who died tonight, then he has to do it. When Kurt tries to get up, Blaine tightens his grasp and whines. "Honey, please let Kurt go…"

"Blaine, let him go," Wes commands in a firm voice not so different from when he's running the Warbler meetings. Kurt pulls Blaine's hands off of him and kisses them. He knows this is hard for Blaine. The poor boy's seen so much death in his life—more than even Kurt. He feels bad that he has to go, but Kurt doesn't feel as if he has a choice. Kurt pries himself away and just as Blaine starts to tear up, Wes takes his place. "I've got it Kurt, go."

It's a simple sentence, but Wes's voice carries more rasp and emotion than Kurt's ever heard him speak with. It's easy to understand—it's not just a girl who died out there tonight; it's one of their sisters. A Crawford. It could have just as easily been one of the Dalton boys and that thought makes Kurt want to curl in on himself. Instead, he grasps Robin's hand and allows her to lead him.

Robin guides Kurt outside the warehouse. A collection of lights illuminates the outside, and there are more people (GAIA employees, Kurt assumes), but as he guessed, there's still a body draped with a white sheet. A sad attempt at privacy and grace. As if putting a blanket over a brutally murdered girl is any sort of consolation. The man from before is still standing over her. "Kurt, we haven't formally met. My name is Andre Moretta."

He feels Robin hand tense around his. "Andre, I'm not sure if now is the right time for all of this…"

"The right time passed a long time ago," He says simply, void of emotion. Kurt didn't have any idea how this man, Andre, could stand over this dead girl and not have any emotion. He figures it's probably because he has to remain calm. Like Wes, he's in charge. "I know this is a lot for you to handle, and I'm sorry. This isn't what I wanted for you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurt asks quietly. Robin rubs Kurt's shoulder as Andre clears his throat. Andre spares a glance at the sheet.

"Let's go over here and talk," he says. Kurt didn't argue; he, Robin, and Andre go over to the light farthest from the warehouse and Renee's body, but not nearly far enough. The overgrown grass crinkles beneath Kurt and Robin's shoes while Andre stands on the small patch of gravel. Robin envelops Kurt into a half-hug and contrary to his usual nature, he's grateful. Something changes in Andre; a small sliver of sadness breaks though his defenses. Perhaps he's letting himself do so because he thinks it's too dark for Kurt to see. Andre finally stares directly at Kurt. "You look so much like her, it's eerie."

It only takes Kurt a second what he means. He feels like there should be a huge gasp, but Kurt answers in a flat tone. "You mean my mother? You knew her."

Andre nods. "Very well. She pretty much raised me. Elizabeth was the one who made me the head of GAIA."

Kurt finds it very frustrating. All along, he's tried to fit together his mother's past and here was someone who probably knew her better than he did. Then again, that wasn't saying much these days. "Why haven't I spoken to you before now?"

"To protect you and a lot of other people. I'm sorry to say this Kurt, but the attack tonight; it wasn't just a random act of violence. Someone was sending you and me a warning…"

There it is. It flashes very quickly. Barely noticeable, but Kurt sees it. Fear. The first true emotion he's seen from the man. Kurt's nails dig into the sleeve of Robin's jacket. "What's the warning?"

Andre conceals the fear again, but it's still evident in his voice. "That they know who you are, and how to get to you."

()()()()()()

Tatiana is stuck. Where? She can't say. For all she knows, she could be a prisoner in her own body. It feels like it weighs a thousand pounds, her head a thousand more. She's stuck in a deep fog that feels a little more like drowning. If this is what death feels like, it's disappointing. If she's already dead and this is purgatory, then purgatory as an afterlife is greatly underestimated.

She hears voices. More like rings to her ear, but somehow, she can understand them.

"_That's it. Any deeper, and she might go comatose." _She can't recognize the voice. It's just rings. Piercing, agonizing rings.

"_Well, why isn't she talking?"_

"_You really should have done more research on my abilities, Goolsby."_

Goolsby. Dustin. Every memory hits at once. It's like a cannonball to the brain. She screams out loud. That makes it worse. It's the highest ring of all. The weight moving and crushing her all at once. The memories are of her and Dustin—them meeting, them going on dates, them just hours ago when Jesse had stopped by her apartment. The memories aren't bad, but just the fact that they're coming all at once makes it nearly unbearable.

"_Shit, what the hell was that?"_

"_That's the second half of my powers. Her memories are still sorting themselves out. The brain functions differently under my compulsion." _

"_And that made her scream?"_

"_Try having every thought you've ever had occur all at once and let me know how hot you're feeling. Now check yourself, and let me do what you asked me to….Tatiana? Can you hear me?" _

She feels something crack. Bones maybe. She's not sure she'd be able to feel it in this state. _**"What's happening?"**_

"_Good. Good. You're doing good. You're alright." _ The ring is softer. Tatiana feels a chill that starts from skin and seeps into her bones.

"_**Stop."**_

It's silent. Deathly quiet. A small relief that's much too far from the end. It breaks with more shrill notes. "_Get ready, I'm about to ask you a question... Who is Shelby Corcoran?" _

Tatiana screams out again as Shelby's face enters her head. One of these memories is a conversation she heard a long time ago. One between her aunt and her father.

Another scream as memories of her father swirl around the ones of Shelby. Squeezing her brain and crushing her chest. There's no hitch-pitched siren to accompany this. Maybe she's just screaming in her head. _"Tatiana. Answer her. The pain will stop if you answer her."_

Tatiana didn't know if she could trust the communicator of the sentence. The pain is just too great for her to question it. _** "My aunt."**_

"_Your aunt? Your father's sister?" _She can't nod of her own accord, but the question is thankfully rhetorical. She's grateful to find the communicators have kept their word; the weight in her chest lifts and she inhales as much air as she can. Her brain and head start to feel lighter. _"Why did she go into hiding?"_

"_**Didn't have a choice. Lost love."**_

"_Lost love? What does that mean?"_

"_Fuck if I know. Just focus on keeping her under… What are you talking about, Tatiana?"_

The vision is distant. The memories are playing over and over, but she can't keep a hold of one. It's like running after a speeding car. It just keeps getting farther and farther.

"_Let her out a little bit. Tatiana, who did she lose?"_

Finally, she catches it. It lands in front of her eyes and she sees them—a happy couple. Smiling at the camera in a still position, but looking entirely free and happy. The man's devastatingly handsome. Crisp dark hair, green eyes, and an angel white smile. Between them a love so strong and apparent that she doubts many people have ever felt anything close to it.

"_**Carl Howell." **_

"_Oh! Here we go!"_

"_Carl Howell?"_

"_He's the guy who wouldn't tell us where Elizabeth was. I had no idea he was connected to Andre Moretta's sister though. Lift her a little more!"_

"_Dustin, she can't transition that quickly. This is hard enough on—"_

"_Just do it, Sunshine." _

Tatiana starts to come back into her body. She still feels heavy, but she can feel her fingers tighten and her toes curl. She can feel her dry lips smack as she desperately tries to wet them. That comes with a price, as her head starts to spin. "_Tatiana, why does Shelby want Jesse to protect Rachel Berry?"_

This time she sees the memory much faster. It's back to the conversation she witnessed as a child. She's back to her senses enough to know how dangerous this information is. It could be very bad if she lets it out.

"_Who is Rachel Berry?"_

Tatiana fingers dig into her palm. She tries to fight against it, but it's no good. _**"Shelby's daughter."**_

Something takes her. Death. Purgatory. Unconsciousness. She didn't know. She's just happy it's over.

()()()()()()()

Kurt feels like he's falling over a cliff, even if it's only on his knees. The information he's been told is just too much. Robin's down beside him while Andre's staring. He seems concerned enough, but Kurt can't find it in himself to care. "Are you all right?"

"No," Kurt's voice breaks and he realizes he's crying again. The grief and anger course through his veins, making him shake. "My mother's a murderer. I'm a fluke. The same people who put my mother in her grave want to put me in mine or use my powers to hurt more people. What part of this seems all right to you!?" he shouts, unaware of the blue glowing in his eyes. Robin wraps her arms tighter around Kurt.

"Honey, I'm sorry you had to find out this way. You have to understand-" Kurt disappears. He seeps through her arms and away from her touch. When he reappears, Kurt's standing up, backing away from the two of them. Tears pouring from his eyes and sobs breaking sound barriers with their screeching.

"For years I've been looking for answers! I thought I was crazy! I thought my mom was a liar. I was made into a liar. Now not only do I have no idea who I am, I don't know how much time I have left to figure out! Why the fuck didn't anyone tell me before now?!"

Robin rises slowly, tears brimming in her own eyes. If she sheds even one, Kurt may lose it. Andre keeps his composure and Kurt just wants to shatter it. His life is in shambles and for him, it's business as usual. "Kurt, calm down. Your mother kept these things from you for a very good reason. You needed to be old enough to accept your destiny before you could know."

Kurt forces a dark laugh. "Old enough to accept my destiny?! _My destiny_?" Kurt isn't thinking when he flicks his hands into the air. That all it takes to send Andre barreling a good 15-20 feet behind where he was standing. Robin gasps as she tries to set her compulsion on him. From the way he's glaring at Andre, it doesn't seem to be working. Andre groans, but manages to sit up as Kurt starts to walk towards him. A few GAIA employees surrounding Renee's body are ready to step in, but Andre holds up his hand to stop them. He gives Kurt his moment, not that Kurt is waiting for permission to let loose. "I didn't choose this! My mom chose it for me! Do you think I would choose to be an outcast in both worlds? Do you think I would choose to live this confusion?! Do you think I would choose to surround myself with people who lie and keep things from me?!"

He closes his eyes. The glow disappears when he reopens them. The anger is far from gone, though. He can't even find it in himself to feel bad for hurting Andre. People have been deceiving and hurting him since he was a child. Wanting to kill him even earlier. Someone else needs to get hurt for once. "It's not _my_ destiny. I don't want it!"

"Kurt, you can't—Kurt!" Kurt disappears and runs away. He runs into the darkness. He hears Robin and Andre calling out for him, but he keeps running. He wants to run until he fades from existence. Go somewhere where no one will know he is. Not even himself. He always wanted to know why he was this way, or why he had these abilities. He always had this desire to look in the mirror like normal people did, and recognize the reflection.

Now that he knows he is the son of a killer, a messiah, and is now the latter himself; he just wants to disappear forever.

He doesn't make it far from the warehouse. Just far enough out where the lights no longer touched the grass and only the moon gave him light. Kurt falls and lets go. He screams, sobs, thrashes and lets himself do so because no one can see him. No one will able to find him and that's the only freedom he has left.

"What are you doing here?" A small voice whispers. Kurt lifts his head in shock that he's been found. He gasps sharply and jumps backwards at the sight before him. It can't be… It's impossible…

But Renee's there. Unscratched and wearing her clean fight club outfit; as if she never died.

()()()()()()()

Tatiana wakes up lying on the couch. Everything feels normal—her body holds no pain, and her brain feels completely clear. Except she knows it's not normal. Her memory is hazy at best, but she remembers.

Her eyes move to the table in the kitchen-area where Dustin is chewing on a bagel and reading a book. That damn earpiece in his ear and his expression smug as ever. Her blood goes cold, as she grows angrier. She leaps off the couch and stomps over. He didn't even notice until she smacks the book from his hand, "What did you do to me?!"

Dustin sighs and tilts his head up, clearly annoyed. "I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't give me that bullshit Dustin! You did something to me…you and…" Tatiana has to think about it for a minute. "You and that little Asian girl you got to join Vocal Adrenaline! Sunshine!"

"Honey, you're over-reacting." He reaches out for Tatiana's elbow, but she pulls it away before he can grasp it.

She reaches into her jacket and gets out her pack of cigarettes. Her hands tremble as she holds the packet. Her eyes grow wide. "What did you do?" she whines, her voice very nearly cracking. She's terrified. She wants to be as far away as she can be from her fiancé right now. She's not even sure she could ever trust him again. She can let a lot of things go: working late nights, breaking promises; she can even let go of the fact that he uses her and gives little in return. She can't forgive him breeching her body and mind.

Dustin rolls his eyes and grabs the pack from her. He hits the pack against the tabletop and fishes one out. "Sunshine has a rather unique ability. Her compulsion pertains more to the physical aspects of the body. She can convince someone they're strong enough to lift the world, or she can make them feel like they're being crushed under a bolder, and that's just two of the options I could choose from to make you talk. It's annoying, you know—how you talk about everything except for what I want to hear."

He extends a cigarette towards her. Her shaking fingers hesitantly reach out for it. She recoils the hand back as soon as she gets it. She presses her finger to the end of the cancer stick and inhales sharply, hoping every puff will bring her a little closer to sanity. Dustin speaks again. "Honestly, you weren't in any danger."

"It felt like I was," she says around her inhales and exhales. "I was scared I was going to die. There were a few times where I wanted to die. Why the hell would you ever put someone you love through that?! What the fuck makes you think that's okay?!"

Dustin smiles. Actually smiles. "Well, this is awkward…" Dustin produces one of her cigarettes and holds it up for Tatiana to light it. When she doesn't, he rolls his eyes again and produces a lighter. "There's only one thing I love about you Tiana, and that's how delightfully messed up you are. It made it so easy to manipulate you against your father."

Tatiana snorts. "I hate to tell you this, but I've been against my father for years. I don't appreciate you saying you manipulated me."

"Oh, but I did. You were an angry spoiled brat when I found you. Not much older than a teenage girl as far as maturity is concerned. You were so pissed at daddy that you wouldn't listen to a thing he ever taught you. So, the riddle goes, how do you get a teenage girl to do whatever you want?" He flicks the lighter and lights up the cigarette. His release much smoother than hers as the smoke blows from his mouth to her ceiling. With a smile, he answers his riddle. "By making her fall in love with you."

Tatiana's stomach clenches in the most painful way. Not her heart, but her stomach. She knew Dustin was capable of a lot of things. She knew that this engagement wasn't based as much on love as it should have been. Still, she thought there was some respect between them. Yet here he is pretty much admitting that even her body isn't off-limits to him.

Her eyes start to edge gold. "Get out."

"Tiana, come on. If you had just told me the truth…"

Tatiana closes her fist and brings it down on the table. The wood dissolves into ashes and onto the floor. Dustin looks down at the ash in his lap and raises and eyebrow. Tatiana's eyes are completely gold as she wedges the cigarette between her lips and rips the engagement ring off her finger. "Get out," she repeats, dropping the ring on top of the pile of ash.

Tatiana starts walking towards her bedroom, content to hide out until her now ex-fiancé left. She doesn't see the pair of hands that wrap around her waist and cover her mouth. Tatiana's screaming into Dustin hand as she feels her energy start to drain into Dustin's hand. The last thing she feels is Dustin's breath against her ear. "This isn't over. Not by a long shot."

()()()()()()()

"Renee..." Kurt extends his arm to touch her arm. As he suspects, his hand pushes through. Renee pulls back and curls into herself more. Earlier in the evening, when she was flesh and bones, her eyes and skin were filled with color. Now as a spirit, a representation of her physical self, they're both so dim and grey. Kurt could have believed Sebastian was still alive, but Renee looks as if she's dying in front of his eyes again. "…how?

Her lower-lip trembles as her eyes seem to water. "I don't know," she whimpers as she stares over at her sheet-covered body. She's scared. Her color drains even more. Somehow, Kurt knows it means she's not long for this world. Soon, she will go where the rest of dead go, and frankly, Kurt can't blame her for being scared of it.

However, a part of him realizes this is his chance to help her. "Renee, who did this to you? You can tell me and..."

Renee shakes her head. "I don't even remember how I died. All I remember is leaving the warehouse and then I woke up next to my body. Whatever it was…I don't want to remember." Renee looks down at her hands and swallows. "This is only temporary, isn't it? I'm going to leave soon."

"I-I. Sebastian. He figured out to stay. There must be a way," Kurt assures. More to himself than her. The guilt is so heavy and thick. He believes maybe if he finds a way to keep her around, then maybe it won't be so heavy. "I'll find him and make him tell me. I need to find Blaine, I—"

Renee shakes her head solemnly. "You can't…you know you can't…."

Kurt wants to snap again. Of course he can. He doesn't even know what he's capable of. He can move things with his mind and disappear into walls. He can see dead people for god sakes! Surely, there's something—

Kurt groans suddenly as another tear falls. There isn't because his powers don't play by normal rules. He's supposed to be an absorber. The fact that his powers have taken this form is his mother's doing. The fact that he can move energy rather than take it is nothing more than a mistake. He can do a lot of things, but he can't keep Renee's spirit around.

Renee seems to unfold from herself at the sound of Kurt's crying. "It's okay."

"No, it's not! You're dead because of me," he whines, more to himself than her. "I should have died that night in car. That's when I was supposed to go…if I had you'd still be alive and things would be a lot more peaceful around here."

"Obviously you weren't supposed to if you're here," Renee whispers. Kurt wipes his eyes and tries to stay strong, at least for her. Renee pulls herself closer. Her hand falls through his. It feels weird, tingling, but he didn't move it. "I saw the fight you had with them."

"Yeah?" Kurt asks flatly. Renee nods.

"You can't save me. I know you want to, but you can't. What happened to me wasn't your fault, but if you let whoever did it get it away…" Kurt looks up to meet her eyes. Growing duller by the moment, but he's captivated by them. "…then that is your fault because you had the power to stop it and you let it continue."

Kurt realizes what she's telling him. He runs a hand through his hair to keep his brain from exploding. "Even if I find him and stop him—even if I believe my mother did all this because she didn't have a choice or because it was what's best—how the hell am I supposed to win a battle that's never going to end?" And it would be a never-ending battle. If he managed to stop the people seeking him out, it'd only be a matter of time before more sought him out. It's impossible to make both Sovereign and GAIA happy, so how could he possibly make peace between them?

Renee shrugs. "Maybe you're asking the wrong person… maybe you need to ask her."

Kurt pauses. "You mean my mother?" She shrugs again. "She's dead."

Renee gives him a small smile. "So am I…"

It's like a switch. Suddenly, he went from being angry and hopeless to finding light. He's been focusing on what he didn't know about himself or his powers. He never thought about using what he did know and building from there. Kurt wraps his arms around himself. Renee puts her hands back in his lap. "But if she could help me, wouldn't she have done it before?"

"She might have been waiting for you," Renee says. She stands up and spares another glance toward her sheet. "I think it's time…"

Kurt gasps sharply. "Are you sure?" She nods, her arms shaking. Kurt notices her finger starting to darken. "Before you go, you have to know—"

"I know you're sorry. It's okay." She reaffirms. Kurt shakes his head. She gives him a confused look as the skin on her face starts to go dark as well. It's like the orb, Kurt learns. She's going to fade into the black.

He stands up and sets a hard stance. His eyes focus on her darkening iris. "You can rest in peace… because I'm going to find the person who killed you and make him pay."

She smiles again, the last flash of white before it goes black too. Her figure starts to break apart and fade into the cold dark night. Kurt's invisibility gives out, making him visible to the world as she disappears from his sight. She's gone now. He wonders where she went, if she's conscious there, and if she really is resting now. He's not sure, but he's certainly more at peace now. He holds on to that feeling, as he knows it won't last.

"Kurt!" a voice calls, the grass crinkling under frantic footsteps. Kurt sees the bright flashes of gold and knows immediately who it is.

"Blaine!" Kurt embraces Blaine as the boy runs up to him. Blaine nearly tackles Kurt to the ground, but Kurt absorbs the shock and clings to Blaine tightly.

Blaine inhales Kurt's scent and sighs in relief. "Thank god, when mom said you ran off, I thought you'd be impossible to find. I wouldn't blame you though."

Kurt tenses. "She told you?"

"She didn't know what else to do," Blaine pulls back and cups Kurt's face, looking apologetic and sympathetic. "She was so worried about you. I was worried about you. This is a huge fucking mess, Kurt."

"Yeah, you're telling me," Kurt says with a small laugh. He stares into Blaine's naturally hazel eyes, which were still glowing gold. Blaine's been through so much and Kurt's not sure if he can ask Blaine to endure more; which is what will certainly occur now that Kurt is accepting his destiny. Kurt pushes forward and kisses Blaine on the lips. Fully, passionately, and with every ounce of strength. Blaine tries to pull Kurt closer and gives back everything in his own kiss.

When they part, Kurt wants to cry again. Blaine brushes his thumb over Kurt's trembling lip. "What's wrong?"

Kurt kisses the digit. "I don't want to lose you…" he confesses brokenly. Blaine smiles sadly.

"So, don't push me away."

"But…"

Blaine presses his index finger against Kurt's lips. "Don't. I can take of myself. I love you and I want to be with you. Come heaven or hell, probably hell, I don't care. I've been fighting with myself too long for you. Don't make me fight you too. Don't tell me goodbye…"

Kurt wishes he had the strength to be brave and moral in this situation. He wishes he could protect Blaine like he knows he should. On the other hand, he's giving up so much to do what he's being asked to do. If he has to be something he never wanted to be, then he gets to keep Blaine.

Kurt hugs Blaine again, feeling safer than he's ever felt in his life, even if he's just learned how dangerous his life is. "I'll never say goodbye to you."

**That's it for chapter 24! I should be working on NOS or WWWB, but my inspiration has been weird these past couple weeks. Those updates are coming up though! A few exciting things I wanted to mention. First, my beta, irishflute, is back! Very excited (and grateful) to have her reviewing my work again. She reviewed this chapter, so big thank you to irishflute! **

**Second thing I wanted to mention—this story has hit over 200 reviews! That's a pretty awesome milestone for any story, but it's also my first story to hit 200. You guys are just amazing! Everyone is lovely and supportive and I wish we could just all have a big party to celebrate. Thank you everyone! The readers, the people who favorite, alert, or follow this story, and, of course, the reviewers :)**

**cold kagome- Thank you! (I'm assuming that's a good wow anyway?)**

**AlexaCardew- It's great to be back! I've grown rather attached to this universe myself (even if I tend to get lost with the details), so very glad other people like it as well. Hope you continue to enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing!**

**msdarque- I did feel bad about killing her :( Though, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a tiny bit excited, if only to get the ball rolling for the other secrets to come out. Not so many this chapters, but in the future. Renee's sacrifice was unfortunately needed. Thank you very much for reviewing! Enjoy the update :)**

**Ittlebitz- Thanks! I still think the Warblers were more excited than anyone when Kurt and Blaine first got together. They were in the danger zone for all that sexual tension after all. Wes is probably my favorite old school Warbler (besides Trent) so I'm very happy he has a place in the story. Stuff is definitely getting real! Thanks for reviewing!**

**GleekyPatronusWolfyStarkid- Thank you very much! Hopefully this one matches up to expectations :) Thank you for reviewing!**

**thexkat- Oh! I didn't even think about the reader being led to believe it was Robin! I should have played on that more! All well, I like to be spontaneous :) I am actually working on an original novel, though it's nothing like this one. It's not even a paranormal, but I appreciate the compliment very much! I'm super glad to have a fangirl like you! Actually, as far as my updates usually go, this one was quick so…wish granted, lol. Thank you for reviewing!**

**ElleA26it- Aw! Thank you very much! I don't think I've ever been called a genius on before, but I really appreciate the compliment! I like the cap lock, shows enthusiasm—and not every word is in caps so it works for me, lol. I did actually update sooner than I expect so, there you go. Hope you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing! (p.s. your English is very good!)**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Thank you! Things are definitely getting dangerous, though I may have scared away a bit of the excitement in this chapter since I dealt with the aftermath more. Thank you for reviewing…. which by the way, your review was the 200****th****review! Typically, I offer to do something for milestone reviews like write out a prompt or suggestion. You don't have to, but throwing it out there. Thanks again!**

**miss jayne76- Nope, no answers I'm afraid, but more are coming soon I promise! I felt like things needed to be moved forward a bit, but now that they are, more answers should be coming soon ;) In the mean time, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you, as always, for reviewing my dear!**

**StarGleekBelle- Thank you! Surprisingly, you didn't have to wait too long, lol. Thank you for reviewing!**


	25. Chapter 25

Robin drops Kurt off at home. He apologizes to both Robin and Andre for his behavior earlier, but other than that, he's been completely silent. She can't blame him; this is way too much for any kid to handle. She gives Kurt a long hug before he leaves the car. "Be strong, everything will be all right."

Kurt clutches at Robin. His hands are cold. She compares hugging Kurt to hugging her youngest son. Blaine's body is warm and engulfing; Kurt, on the other hand, is freezing and stiff, like he's afraid Robin will hurt him. It's obvious Kurt is used to putting up his guard and protecting himself. Blaine's the same way, except it's against his nature to keep people at a distance. For Kurt, it must be a way of life, though she wonders if he's like this with Blaine. "I will," he says. His voice strained and tired. He pulls away and gives her a weary smile. "Happy New Year."

She senses the discontent in his voice and smiles back. She's come to care very much for Kurt. He's done more for Blaine in a short amount of time than she could ever hope to accomplish. Despite losing his temper tonight, Kurt's a sweet boy who always tries to do right by people. Most of all, he's still standing after everything that's happened. It's more than Robin thinks she could handle.

Robin gets back into the car so Blaine and Kurt can have a moment alone. The two hug and speak quiet words to each other, as if they know just how similar their lives are, even if Blaine has no idea that it's true. She compares her lies to Elizabeth's. Were the two really so different? Robin lied to protect her family, and mostly, to protect her son. Elizabeth lied to protect- well, everyone. However, it seems the more Robin sees what Elizabeth's lies have done to her son, the more Robin doubts her own. With Sovereign closing in and quite clearly willing to do anything to overthrow their government, how long would it be before someone starts to dig into Andre's past? How long before people connected him to Robin and then discovered Blaine's abilities? How long would it take for her crumbling secret to finally unravel? More importantly, how would Blaine take the news?

Mother and son watch Kurt walk back into his house. Once he's inside, Blaine finally climbs into Robin's car. Robin starts up her car and pulls out of Kurt's driveway. "Will he be safe tonight?"

"Yes. We're putting his house on surveillance," As if on cue, Robin gives a curt nod towards a black Toyota parked on the other side of the street; while neither she or Blaine could see her, she knows Monique Martin (an enforcer for GAIA and Thad Martin's aunt) is taking the guard shift. Robin puts her car in drive and picks up speed down the road.

The streets are empty. The only sound they hear for the longest time is the _woosh_ of Robin's vehicle. Inside her head, it's much louder. They were playing a dangerous game before, but now the stakes are much higher. It's not just her way of life and Kurt's sanity that's at risk anymore; people's lives could be taken over this. A girl she practically watched grow up was killed in an extremely gruesome way, just because she was the unfortunate one who fought Kurt. It's a selfish thought, but she can't help but wonder what would have happened if Renee's killer had seen Blaine with Kurt? Would she be mourning her son's life instead of fearing for it? She couldn't say, but she does know her life would have been over if she had seen the 'x' on Blaine's throat tonight.

"What's going to happen to Kurt?" Blaine says, breaking the silence. Robin sighs and leans her head back in the seat.

"We're still debating that. We're not doing anything before Renee's funeral, but once the parents find out what's happened, it will be difficult to get them on our side." The biggest fear right now is that they'll have a mutiny on their hands. It's been a delicate balance keeping Andre in power as it is, but now with the senseless death of a superhuman child, whatever faith people had left in him would soon fade away. Ironic, considering Robin trusts Andre more than anyone right now. "Kurt has possibilities. He'll be safe Blaine."

"How?"

"You know I can't tell you that."

"Yeah, there's a lot of that going on, isn't there?" Blaine spits back. Robin grips her fingers around the stirring wheel.

"Blaine—"

Blaine turns around in his seat so he can face his mother. His brows are furrowed in anger, though Robin can feel that it's mostly confusion running through her son's veins. "I understand why you couldn't tell me—I'm not happy about it, but I understand, but why did you and Mr. Moretta keep it from him for so long?"

The betrayal in his voice makes her heart ache. "It's not so simple, baby. Elizabeth didn't want anyone saying anything for very good reasons and—"

"Kurt's mom is dead," He says in a low voice. "Kurt's the one who's alive, and he doesn't have a clue what's going on in his own life! This affects him more than it affects any of us and everyone's been making decisions on his behalf!"

"He's a child, Blaine! So are you!" Robin explodes, daring to turn to her son for the quickest second. His emotions stumble as his eyes go wide; Robin's glare is so fierce he's almost scared. The anger, she realizes, comes from her own fear—the fear she may lose her youngest son, whether that be through him losing his life or losing his respect for her. She stares back to the road, speaking through her teeth. "You have no idea how cruel the world can be, or how hard I've fought to protect you from it. A girl died tonight! You think you'll just be safe from whatever's trying to hurt Kurt because you're somehow more powerful? Because you've taken a _life_?"

Robin spits out the last part and immediately wishes she could take it back. A deep agony, paired with a few other nameless (but not good) emotions came off Blaine. His face is on the verge of crumbling to tears. Robin's not too far behind. "Blaine…" She whispers.

"Pull the car over…"

"Honey, please, I'm sorry." Robin pleads. Blaine's hand slams against the roof of the car. The smell of smoke hits her nostrils without warning.

"Pull it over now!" he shouts. Robin swerves to the side of the road as quickly as she can and parks the car. Blaine doesn't wait for her to shut it off; he snaps off his seatbelt and gets out. Robin's eyes flicker up to where his hand was—a black handprint in its place. It reminds her of the night Andre caught her in the file room. Based on that experience, every instinct tells her not to chase after Blaine, except for one: the maternal instinct. That one would win out every time. She gets out and follows after Blaine.

Blaine doesn't actually go far. He gets a few dozen yards and runs both hands through his hair. Robin catches up fairly quickly. "Blaine Robert! Stop!"

"You stop!" He shouts, turning around. Robin stops in her tracks, not because she fears Blaine. Just the opposite. She can feel his anger and sadness rolling off him all at once, but for the first time in a long time, there's not an ounce of gold or orange in his irises. The only flash of light is the small reflection in Blaine's tears from the car's headlights. "Stop treating me like a child! Stop treating me like I'm incapable of controlling myself! Stop trying to protect me from something you can't protect me from!"

Robin isn't sure what to say to that. She can't just stop protecting Blaine. That's just as much a part of her as her empathy.

Blaine wipes his tears away and stands up straight. "I know after what happened with Sebastian, I needed you to help me. I still need your help, but I can't hide behind you every time something bad happens. Bad things have happened, and they will for the rest of my life. You can't protect me from getting hurt anymore, and that's fine because I don't need it,"

"Blaine," Robin chokes out, her eyes watering as fights to say the words. It's so hard because she knows he's right. She won't always be around to protect him and honestly, she can't this time. They're in a situation where abandoning the problem isn't an option, hiding it is become more difficult, and fighting will be risky, but if it's the only option, what choice do they have?

She feels a little better seeing Blaine stand his ground. He's not the scared little boy she had to control the night of the Sadie Hawkins dance; he's a nearly full grown and ready to make his own choices. Robin's raised her son, though the job is never done.

She doesn't say anything. He just rushes up and throws his arms around her. Robin embraces Blaine and rocks him in her arms. Much like she did years ago, when he was only a baby. Robin feels his warmth and takes it all in. Clinging for every slipping moment while she still could.

One thing would never change; she'd die before she'd let anyone hurt her son.

()()()()()()()

"I know it's around here somewhere," Rachel proclaims as she goes through a box filled with old VCR tapes and a few cassettes. Jesse watches close by, waiting for the perfect moment to come.

It was always part of the plan for him to come over and watch Rachel's old videos. It hadn't been part of the plan to introduce Shelby to her—it never was. However, even as the conscious he buried so long ago plagues him, he's knows it's something that needs to be done.

"_Things have changed Jesse."_

"_What the hell are you talking about?" Jesse asks. He's practicing his ballet at his mother's palates studio. He assumes she's the one who let him in. He stretches and limbers his body, all while staring at Dustin in the mirror. He doesn't have the time to actually stop while he listens to Dustin's nonsense—he's meeting Rachel in a few hours. _

_Dustin smirks. "It's time for you to pick your side."_

_Jesse rolls his eyes and lifts himself on his tippy-toes. "This is tiresome, Goolsby. You're so insecure, you know that? It must be a struggle for attention between you and Tatiana."_

_Jesse looks up and barely catches it. A look of proud, sick amusement all over Dustin's face. Jesse falls back down on his feet; the speed almost makes him stumble. As a general rule, he doesn't trust other people, but that doubles for Dustin. He knows the man is unpredictable and extremely unattached. A person who has so little to lose could pretty much do whatever they wanted, and that scares Jesse. He knew very well that Dustin didn't love Tatiana, but he did believe maybe Dustin had a soft spot for the girl. Tatiana's annoying, and certainly heavy with baggage, but even Jesse felt sorry for her. _

"_Well, it's not much of a competition anymore," Dustin says. Jesse turns swiftly to face him._

"_You got rid of her?"  
_

"_She was keeping information from me. Very important information regarding your little Rachel Berry. Did you know Rachel is Shelby's biological daughter?" Jesse's too stunned to answer, but Dustin waves him off. "Purely rhetorical. I know you do. I know Shelby asked you to look after her and that's why you've been spending every other moment with her. The two reasons you're still alive is because your mother is a respected member of Sovereign and believe it or not, you're still useful to me." Dustin reaches into his pocket and tosses Jesse something. He catches it swiftly and peers down. It's a cassette tape with the words 'To Rachel' written on it. Jesse hands shake as he realizes what it is. _

"_Where did you get this?" _

"_It's not where I got it, Jesse, it's where you got it."_

"_I don't understand," Jesse breathes, but he clutches the tape when he realizes. "Sunshine. Fuck. You used her on me?!"_

"_Sunshine with some help from Giselle so you wouldn't remember," Dustin says, referring to Jesse's dance partner who could manipulate thoughts and memories. Jesse is absolutely furious his teammates used him, but is even more furious at himself because Shelby trusted him. He only went to Shelby's apartment yesterday to give her an update. He replays it in his mind and can't remember a single gap or blackout—which meant they've planned this quite well. How could he be so stupid?! "So you see Jesse, I can control your mind, your body, and god forbid, your life if I need to. You may have been working for Shelby before, but now you work for me. Is that understood?" _

_Jesse opens his mouth to spit out a curse, but Dustin holds up his hand and says, "It's also worth pointing out that you weren't the only victim here. I know you're wondering what happened to Tatiana, and I don't trust you enough to tell you that. What I can tell you is that the information she gave didn't come willingly. I can control anyone—that includes you, Shelby, and little Rachel," Jesse wraps his arms around his body and digs his nails into his flesh. He feels sick—sick and completely hopeless. If Dustin can so easily cast Tatiana aside, he'll have no problem doing the same to Rachel. Dustin tsks. "She can't access her powers right now, you know. I plan on changing that, but she'd be so frail. I don't think she'd even survive if I happen to…" He makes a grabbing motion with his hand. Jesse feels himself get cold, see the pale look on his face in the mirror behind Dustin. _

_He swallows the acid building in his throat. "What do you want from me?" _

_Dustin smiles in return. "Something heart-warming really—I want you to reunite mother and daughter." _

"What's this?" Jesse says, pretending as though he just picked up the tape from the pile. Rachel turns, ready to go off into a big story when she sets eyes on the tape. Her smile falls and her head tilts.

"I don't know." She takes the tape from Jesse and looks over it. "I've never seen it before."

"Is it something your dads made for you when you were a baby?" Jesse asks, feigning ignorance. This is the hardest he's ever had to act. If Rachel doesn't buy it, then it could cost him more than just his place in Sovereign. It could cost him and Rachel their lives.

Thankfully, she's completely in the dark. Rachel shakes her head. "I don't think so." She smiles and waves the tape in Jesse's face. "Well, only one way to find out."

Jesse watches as Rachel walks over to her entertainment center. Jesse's surprised that anyone still has a cassette player, but Rachel's always been a little out there—in an endearing sort of way. He would enjoy novelty if he wasn't so knotted up inside.

Rachel hits play. She's so excited, so unaware of what is about to happen. Shelby's voice rings out. "Hey baby… it's me…. Your mommy."

Rachel gasps, her hands cover her mouth. She misses Jesse's well placed, "I know that voice." She misses it. Rachel sits down on her bed and listens to the tape.

"I wish I could tell you why I had to give you up. I wish you could hear this. I just want you to know that I love you. I'll think about you every day."

Rachel tears up when music starts to play. Jesse can't look at her; he just stares forward and listens to Shelby sing. The words of I Dreamed a Dream come out, and it's the most vulnerable Jesse's ever heard his former teacher sound. He can hear the pain, the loss, and the grief; he can hear it all in her voice. Above all, he can hear the love. Love he's never known in his entire life. It makes him wonder how his half-ass parents could get to raise three kids while this woman, who so obviously wanted her daughter, didn't get the chance to sing this song to her daughter until now. It makes him doubt the existence of karma.

"_Now life has killed the dream I dreamed_." Rachel sings with Shelby, and Jesse hears perfect harmony. He was forced into doing this, but he feels as though these two deserve to be together. The tape ends and Rachel leans her head down. The entire time he's known Rachel—which he can admit, hasn't been very long—she's wanted to be the center of attention. It's weird to see her intentionally try to hide herself from him. Unsettling, really.

Rachel bites her lip and stares into Jesse's eyes with what he dares to say are hope. "You know her?" So she heard him after all. It'd still be so easy to pass off as a misunderstanding. He could leave right now, tell Shelby everything, and go join his big brother in some remote area of the world. Far away from this web of heartbreak and unachievable dreams.

It'd be easy if he could forget Rachel, but he doubts even a compulsion expert could make that happen. He used to joke that if Shelby were younger, she'd be the woman of his dreams. Rachel is almost a teenager version of the woman he so highly regards except for a few key differences. Key differences that somehow made her more beautiful. That beauty would be destroyed if he left now—Dustin would surely destroy both Shelby and Rachel if Jesse didn't stop it. At least this way, Jesse could control the damage.

He nods. "I do..."

()()()()()()()

Santana and Brittany are cuddled close together and watching old movies. Maribel is upstairs paying off the bills, leaving the girls alone downstairs. Santana, of course, had more risqué plans in mind, but when Brittany came over and said she only wanted to cuddle—well, Santana couldn't refuse.

Every minute she holds Brittany feels like it might be the last. No one in her life, besides her mother, has ever stayed long enough to become a constant. If Brittany were to ever inexplicitly disappear into thin air, Santana would be more surprised she existed at all than at the fact she was gone.

Even if, hypothetically, Santana could admit she loves Brittany, and Brittany wanted her in that way, how long before GAIA stepped in and put an end to it? By GAIA national law—the only circumstances in which a superhuman could reveal the truth to a human is if that human was related to a superhuman or if the superhuman and human were to be married. Gay marriage is still illegal in Ohio, meaning by law, Santana couldn't reveal the truth to Brittany even if they were in a committed relationship. Of course, it'd be something GAIA's system could work around if they actually cared about that, but her sperm donor didn't seem to care about the rights of gay superhumans—not when he was so busy with his own fucked up life. Santana's never been much of a rule follower, but she knows GAIA punishes unlawful reveals by wiping the human in question's memory. That's a punishment Santana isn't sure she can survive, so she holds on. Counting and treasuring every moment until disappointment hits her once again.

Today doesn't turn out disappointing, however. In fact, Santana gets the shock of the year (not saying much since its the first day of the year, but still shocking in it's own right) when she answers the call of an unknown number. "If this is a telemarketer—"

"Santana," the voice says with no hesitation or sarcasm whatsoever. Odd, considering the voice belongs to none other than Tatiana Moretta.

Santana looks at Brittany out of the corner of her eye and then says into the phone, "What do you want?"

"Look, I don't have much time to talk. Things are getting really bad over here—"

"Oh, so your spoiled rich-bitch attitude finally caught up with you?" She responds, hoping to get some kind of bite for her bark. Instead, Tatiana answers her frantically.

"This is serious! Sovereign's on my ass because they found out I was hiding shit from them. I need to get out of Ohio, like yesterday."

She's suspicious to say the least. Not that Santana doesn't believe her sister's bad decisions have finally caught up with her, but more because she can't understand why Tatiana would call her when she knew Santana probably wouldn't help her. Unless, of course, she's absolutely desperate, which catches Santana's curiosity. "So, why are you calling me? Shouldn't you be calling Daddy-dearest?"

"Fuck no! I'd rather rot in a Sovereign cell than call him for help. In fact, I need you to hold on to something for me so it doesn't end up in his slimy hands." One thought hits Santana and she knows it must be it. Her eyes widen because it's the most prized possession in the Moretta family, or at least, that's what her mother's told her. Santana never had any big dreams of coming into contact with the heirloom because as far as anyone seemed concerned, she wasn't an heir. Still, after her obvious betrayal, she didn't think there'd ever be a chance Tatiana would get it from their father, let alone before he died.

"You have the necklace?" Santana asks, just to be sure.

"Yeah, the sperm-donor gave it to me when I graduated from high school, and I don't plan on giving it back. So I want you to meet me at my apartment in two hours to get it."

That sets off another red flag. Why would Tatiana give the necklace to her? And if she feels like her life is in danger, why would they meet at the first place anyone would think to look? Something seems off about this whole situation, but again, Santana's curiosity gets the better of her. "And how do you know I won't just take it to Andre once I get it? It's not like it works with my powers."

"Because you hate him as much, if not more, than I do. You know it will drive him absolutely nuts if his secret daughter has it," she points out. That does seem to bring things together a bit more. Tatiana may not trust Santana, but any opportunity to make Andre mad is one Tatiana would take in a heartbeat. It's also true that Santana would be resistant to the idea of giving it to Andre.

Still, it doesn't feel right to Santana. There's something wrong here, besides the fact her estranged half-sister is asking her for help, and Santana's gut is telling her to stay far away. On the other hand, Santana can't help but wonder what this could all mean. If something more is going on here, then she's interested in knowing what it could be.

Besides, the chance to hold a highly valued item from the family that rejected her? That's an offer she can't refuse. "All right, I'll play."

Tatiana gives her directions to her apartment. It's a long drive to get there, so she'd almost have to leave immediately. Santana goes upstairs to get changed, Brittany following behind when she realizes Santana's leaving. "Where are you going? I thought today was just for us?"

Santana curses and rips the shirt over her head. She can't take Brittany with her if it's as dangerous as Santana feels like it is, especially when everything she and Tatiana will be talking about is superhuman related. Brittany was planning on spending the night, too. Santana decides that Brittany can surely entertain herself for a couple hours while Santana goes and meets her sister. "It will be when I get back. I have to go meet someone, but you can stay here with Mama, can't you?"

Brittany looks sad but shrugs. "I guess so," she says. Santana gives her a reassuring smile and peck on the cheek.

"I'll bring you back some candy, okay Brit?" Santana promises as she puts on her bra and reaches for a new shirt, dropping her jeans along the way. Brittany finally smiles.

"Hersheys, not Skittles. Skittles makes money off the hard work of Smurfs and I refuse to support sweatshop work," Brittany says. Santana chuckles, giving her cheek a gentle pat.

"You got it, sweetie."

()()()()()()()

Cooper packs the last of his bags into the rental car and closes the trunk. He doesn't notice Robin standing tiredly off to the side until she speaks. "You should've woken me up."

Cooper turns around and leans back against the car, giving his mother a small smile. "You looked like you had a rough night."

"To put it mildly," Robin says, jostling her hair. She had tied it in a ponytail in a messy attempt to look professional. She was probably off to work after Cooper left—to work with Andre Moretta. Cooper can hardly stand the name of his little brother's real father. "And the whole thing is far from over. Word's starting to get out about what happened to that poor girl, and we have to figure out how to deal with it. Honestly, you couldn't have picked a better time to go home. No offense."

"Thanks Mom," Cooper tries to joke. His mom weakly smiles, but it falls immediately. His mother looks older than he's ever seen her. Whenever they met people as a family, they were always shocked to learn that Robin was his mother. Her size and features made her look much younger than she actually was. Now that her dark hair is starting to grey and bags are showing under her eyes, it's obvious the stress is taking a toll on her health. Cooper feels like he should do something to help, but he has no idea what. Short of keeping the secret of Blaine's paternity, there's very little he can do to make things easier for his mom. There's only one thing he can think of. "You know, if you want, I could get a later flight and take Blaine with me. Get him a tutor or enroll him somewhere in California. Get him out of dodge for a little while."

Robin sighs. "I would love nothing more than to say yes, but Blaine wouldn't go for it. Not without Kurt."

"Ah, he's got it bad for the kid, doesn't he? Well, at least he's smart enough to fall in love with a superhuman. He can ignore all the drama you and I went through." This time, Robin actually laughs, even though those situations were an entirely new level of tragic. "Well, if he ever changes his mind, you know where to find me."

Robin's humor fades again, a very serious look on her face. She bites her lip and then replies, "I'm not sure if he will, but if I get into a situation where I need to send them both somewhere to hide, I might—"

"Just do it. No matter how bad it gets, you can send them both to me," Cooper tells her. Robin nods in agreement and crosses her arms for protection against the wind.

"I'm sorry about everything… about you finding out about Blaine the way you did. I didn't—I—"

Cooper shrugs. He won't say that what his mom did was right, because it wasn't. He also won't chastise her or make her feel awful because he's sure she does that to herself every day. Really, it's a situation where right and wrong have very limited meanings. Regardless, she was his mother, and no matter what she did, she did it out love. Or maybe he just doesn't want to hear any more justification over a fucked up situation.

Robin seems to appreciate it the gesture. She walks over and wraps her around her oldest son. Cooper towers over his mother, easily putting his chin on top of her head. They're two entirely different people who happen to share a bloodline. They don't always agree, but Cooper will always have the upmost respect for his mom. For the sacrifices and hardships she's faced and defeated in her life.

She backs up, allowing Cooper to walk to the driver's side. He opens the door and waves to his mom reassuringly. She has a lot to deal with now, and Cooper feels bad he can't help her. It's odd how he can make directors give him a part with a wink and smile, but he can't use his powers to protect his mom and little brother. He can't even keep the girl he loves in his life.

Cooper slides into the car and sighs, hands squeezing around the wheel. He seems to have a big problem when it comes to love. Somewhere far away from here, Chelsea is getting ready to marry another man, and he hasn't even thought about that because his minds been too focused on someone else—Tatiana Moretta. It should be weird that he's having feelings for his brother's half-sister, but he doesn't even think about it most of the time (after all, it's not like she and Cooper are biologically related). Every time he sees Tatiana, he remembers the charismatic, fun-loving, beautiful girl he knew in high school. Over time, she's been hardened and made into something cynical, but Cooper's sure that there's traces of the girl he once knew somewhere beneath her thick skin.

The only problem is, she's marrying some else, too. The difference is, Cooper's sure the guy she's marrying is a dirt bag. From what Cooper understood, he left Tatiana a lot. Also, while Cooper was no expert on the subject, usually people who were about to be happily married were—well, happy. Tatiana wasn't happy, not even close. He considers bursting into her apartment and sweeping her away like the characters he auditioned for. Except Tatiana would either laugh at him or think he was stupid for doing so.

That being said, he thought while taking note of the time, he had enough time to swing by her place. If nothing else, just to make sure there were no hard feelings about the last time they met up. He never got a chance to tie up the loose ends with Chelsea—at the very least, he'd leave things better off between him and Tatiana.

()()()()()()()

Santana pulls up to the apartment complex and parks. She steps out of the car, wearing a grey hoodie and shorts. While pyrokinetics hated cold weather, hydrokinetics thrived in it. Certainly, people have stared at her for her questionable winter attire, but she's never really cared. If the cold can make her that much more powerful, then she's going to take advantage of it.

She climbs up the stairs and finds Tatiana's apartment number. She bangs heavily on the door. "It's me! Open your door!" No response at first. Santana kicks the door with her foot. "Come on, I don't have all fucking day!"

The door swings open and Santana feels uneasy. It's not her sister who answers the door, but her slimy fiancée. Dustin Goolsby smiles. "Santana. Tiana told me you were coming over, please come in."

He moves aside. Santana fakes a smile back. "Thanks, but I'd rather speak with Tatiana. It's not that I don't trust you, but frankly you have creepy-as-fuck serial killer written all over you."

Dustin chuckles. "I don't get that a lot. She had to run out and she told me to give you the necklace."

"Uh-huh. You're full of shit," Santana responds, crossing her arms and cocking her hips. She's not stupid enough to believe a word that comes out of Dustin's mouth, but she is beginning to question how smart it was to come here in the first place. Dustin leans against the doorway, clearly entertained. It sends chills down Santana's spine, though she'd never admit it out loud. "Listen Hannibal Lecter, you may have my sister wrapped around your finger with your anti-establishment ideas and what not, but I'm not that stupid. I know you're as fake as my sperm donor- at least my sperm donor doesn't make himself look like a douchebag every time I see him."

"Wow, you have me all figured out, don't you? So much smarter than your sister. Yet, prone to the same mistakes…"

Santana taps her foot. Her heart's beating faster. The feelings of fear she's pushed down are coming back full force. "The necklace isn't here, is it? You forced Tatiana to lure me here."

She doesn't wait for a response. She pulls her fist back and wraps it with ice. She surges her fist forward and—

The ice smashes before she can hit Dustin. Santana gasps; it's a force field—he's not here alone. Dustin appears amused by her attempts.

Santana turns and makes a run for it. Dustin reaches for her, but Santana manages to escape. She doesn't know much about Dustin, but knows it would be detrimental if he caught her. She runs for the stairs, knowing if she can reach her car, she has a better chance of escaping.

Someone grabs onto her arms and jerks her down. Santana cries out as the hard stair digs into her back. She peers up and sees a very large boy—likely the one who protected Dustin with the force field—and an African-American girl with dark hair. She's seen her perform in Vocal Adrenaline before and sees her as an adversary more than ever. Santana doesn't want to face Dustin again, so using her cheerleading skills, she rocks herself up and kicks them both in the face. As Santana comes back up, she wraps both her fists with ice and slams them down over their heads. Santana takes off as quickly as she can.

Then, she hears static. Electricity. Santana doesn't know where it's coming from, so she throws herself off the stairs. She tries to roll but lands hard on her side. She hears a crack along her side and screams out. Pain shoots up through her side and constricts her breath. _Come on, you bitch! Get up! _Santana mentally shouts. Santana pushes herself unsteadily and makes a shaky run for her car.

Lighting nearly strikes her again, this time Santana takes note of what direction the lighting is coming from. She waits for him to strike again, before she turns around shoots a couple large ball of water. She freezes each one to ice and fortunately, it sounds like one makes contact when she hears a loud yell. Santana turns back around to run once more. She doesn't get two steps before a heavy weight comes down on her shoulders and makes her fall forward. The weight spreads down her back, into her legs and settles in her head and feet. She feels like screaming, but somehow, she can't get it out. She feels like she weighs a ton and it's more horrible than she could have ever imagined.

Santana maneuvers her head enough to see the cause. A small Asian girl is walking towards her with her hand out. She realizes it's the same girl Rachel sent to a crack house, Sunshine Corazon. Santana, of course, knew she was a superhuman when she left New Directions to join Vocal Adrenaline, but she had no idea that the tiny singer was capable of this. _Fuck this! Get up! Get up or you'll be the dumbest bitch in the history of ever. _Santana digs her hands into the gravel and tries to push herself up, but the weight holds firm. She's been caught.

"Release her…" A soothing voice sets in. It's familiar to Santana's ears, but she can't remember from where. Sunshine looks up; her eyes narrow as if she can't believe someone is trying to command her. "Release her," it repeats, and does so twice more.

By the fourth time, Sunshine's eyes start to glaze over. She lowers her hand, and the weight comes off Santana all at once. She gasps for air and her hero approaches, kneeling beside her. "Are you okay?"

Santana looks up and frowns. It can't be—"Anderson?"

Cooper smirks. "So, you've seen my commercials then?"

"More like your mom took my mom's job, you asshat," Santana growls, pulling her arm back so she can sit up. Cooper chuckles when Santana groans and reaches for her side.

"Well, you're welcome."

Santana is about to begrudgingly thank him, when Dustin grabs Cooper's wrist and forces it behind his back. Cooper cries out from the pain, as well as the fact that his energy is being sucked from his body to Dustin's. Dustin pulls him back and reaches out for Santana. She jumps back just in time. She focuses all her energy together, knowing if she didn't make this work perfectly, then Cooper was as screwed as she was.

She slams her foot to the ground. Water comes up around Dustin. He looks down just as it covers over his face. Santana sets it freeze, setting Dustin in a temporary pause of 'oh, shit'. Cooper takes a deep breath and breaks out of Dustin's grip as the connection to his energy is severed.

"Nice work," Cooper weakly compliments. Santana takes a moment to breathe, only a moment, as she knows they don't have much time. Despite the pain, she picks herself up off the ground.

"Come on, let's get out of here. The ice won't hold long, even out here, and I'm sure we'll be in for trouble once she—" Santana nudges her head towards Sunshine, still stuck in the compulsion trance, "snaps out of it."

"Right. Come on, we'll take my car." Santana winces while turning towards Cooper. She's ready to scream so he holds up his hand. "Do you really want to take chances of running into more of our little friends? I may not be worth much in the power department, but I'm better than having nothing with you in your current condition. Could you ever drive right now?"

Santana takes a check of her injuries. She can barely breathe, and her side hurts like hell. It would be nothing less than a miracle if she doesn't pass out on the drive home. She decides to suck up her pride and follows Cooper towards his car.

Cooper and Santana step in and Cooper starts his car. Sunshine snaps out from her trance and peers in their direction as Cooper speeds off down the road. She'll be too busy dealing with Goolsby to chase after them. Santana goes limp in the car seat. Injured, exhausted, but still alive and free. Cooper's hands shake on the wheel, and she's sure he's much weaker than he cares to admit, but considering how much of his energy Dustin could have drained, he's fortunate.

"So, I didn't see Tatiana…Did he get her?" Cooper hesitantly asks.

"Shit if I know," Santana answers, but she knows Dustin has her. It makes sense now; Dustin had Sunshine manipulate Tatiana into making the call—using something Dustin knew Santana couldn't refuse. Why he wanted Santana so bad, she didn't know; she also didn't know where Tatiana was, only that she would never cross this barrier, no matter how much she hated GAIA and her father. Santana was neutral—therefore, innocent in Tatiana's eyes.

Dustin however, he saw some sort of value. Hence, why he wanted to catch her.

She doesn't ask why Cooper was there as he already answered it. He was there to find Tatiana, and instead, found Santana fighting for her freedom. The car ride is mostly silent as Cooper drives back towards Lima. There are a lot of things Santana doesn't understand. Why did Dustin want her? Where was her sister? Where was the necklace? Questions she never thought she'd be asking; then again, she never thought she'd be riding in a car with one of Robin Anderson's sons, yet here she was.

In this hazy cloud of confusion, only one thing was clear—she wasn't neutral anymore.

**And thus, the end of chapter 25! Apologies for how long it took to write. Vacation wasn't the writing opportunity I thought it was going to be, I'm afraid. I've started back up with college too, so my time has been a little divided. Excuses, excuses, I know. On the plus side, only a week until Glee comes back!**

**So, thank you all for being so patient—reviewers, followers, favoriters, alerters, and readers—you guys are amazing as always! Of course, a special thanks to irishflute for betaing this chapter. I don't know how she finds the time to write, be awesome, and look over my stuff, but I'd lost if she didn't!**

**Also, just a quick note because I'm sure people will be wondering— I know that Blaine's middle name is Devon. That hadn't been announced when I first stated it was Robert in this story, so to stick with consistency, I kept with what I said before. Let's just say in this alternate reality, Blaine was named after his mom, lol. **

**ToniBalogna978- Yes, but only some questions, I still have a whole web that need to be answered, lol. There will certainly be some BAMF!Klaine coming our way soon—the chapters should start progressively getting more action packed now that the whole thing is starting unravel. Thanks for reviewing! Sorry it didn't come soon, but I hope you enjoy the new chapter nonetheless. **

**cold kagome- I know, poor boys :( I seem put them through so much in all my stories. Thank you for reviewing!**

**GleekyPatronusWolfyStarkid- Thank you very much, dear! Very exciting to have this story come this far. I honestly didn't expect it when I first started writing it, but I'm glad so many people enjoy it. Thanks for contributing to that and thank you reviewing :)**

**AlexaCardew- Absolutely! She actually does a little in this chapter, but hopefully, she get another swing at him later on. We'll have to see ;) Hope you enjoy the new chapter, thanks for reviewing!**

**msdarque- Thanks! Unfortunately, Kurt didn't even make it in this chapter, but next chapter will be a really heavy Kurt one. It's hard to fit all the characters in with all the different story lines, but now that they've started to intertwine, it should be a bit easier. Thank you for reviewing! Enjoy the update :)**

**Marierux- Thanks! And thank you for reviewing too :)**

**thexkat- Honestly, Renee bringing up the idea was one of my infamous last minute decisions, so even I didn't think of it until then—and I'm the writer! I don't want to give too much away, but let's just say it won't be as easy for Kurt to contact his mother as he imagined. Hopefully, this chapter answers your questions about Jesse and his place in all of this. Yeah, everything you've said about Tatiana is fairly accurate right now—without giving too much away, I can pull off for her what I did for Andre. Not sure if I can do it a second time, but we'll have to see. Can't say much about Robin's fate, but I will add that she is my favorite version of Blaine's mom that I've written, so, that might factor one way. I never thought of that character death warning pertaining to Robin, but I feel like I wasted an opportunity there…but that wouldn't have been very nice of me, so I'm glad I didn't, lol. I did see that episode (crazy stuff there!). Hope you enjoy the update! Thank you for reviewing! **

**Black-Luna- Thanks! Well…I wasn't update soon, but I hope you like it nonetheless! Thanks for the review!**

**StarGleekBelle-Love the enthusiasm! I know, Kurt's been through a lot in this story and its probably going to get a little harder, but he's though enough to pull through. Unfortunately, Burt can't register as it currently stands, but as we learn in this chapter, not all hope is lost…at least not yet. You'll have to see though! Thank you for reviewing!**

**TuuzMB- Aw! Thank you so much dear! Uh, I couldn't tell you where to find a boy like Blaine (if I knew, I'd have one, lol), but at least we can dream, right? Thanks for reviewing!**

**Rori Potter- For sure, but things should start coming together now. Thanks for reviewing!**


	26. Chapter 26

It's normally a two-hour ride back to Lima, but Cooper drives about as fast as he can. He doesn't risk slowing down in case the attackers have decided to follow them. It's only about an hour or so before Cooper's calm enough to drive within the limit. Cooper pulls out his phone when they're almost back to town and the fearful silence is finally broken. Santana glares out of the corner of her eye. "If you're about to call your mom, don't."

He doesn't even blink at the threat. Cooper pulls his mom's number up on the small screen, only for Santana to reach over and grasp it. She shouts in pain, heaving sobs just to stop herself from throwing up. "That was smart," Cooper comments without a hint of sympathy in his voice.

Santana glares at him. "Just take me back home. I can deal with this myself."

"Apparently, you can't, because you almost got killed, or kidnapped, or god knows what by that asshole and his gang of merry douchebags." Cooper's blunt. Despite the way his parents were, he'd like to believe he's an easygoing person. This time, he has absolutely no tolerance for Santana's irrational hatred. How was it his mom's fault that Andre Moretta replaced Maribel with her? What did it matter when some psychopath almost killed him and probably would have done the same to Santana somewhere down the line? He swallows—what if he did that to Tatiana? He pushes the thought away as fast as it comes. He needs to be cool right now. As calm as the hero he's always trying to play. "Why were you there anyway?"

"Why is it any of your business?" Santana growls. Cooper almost growls right back.

"Because I almost got killed saving you and your sister's life could be in danger, and you don't seem to care!" Cooper shouts, his patience cracking at long last. "Do you have any idea how dangerous everything is now? Some kid got killed last night, and you could have been the next target."

Cooper winces at how much he sounds like his mother. It seems to work as Santana tenses. "What are you talking about?"

He sighs. "A sixteen year old girl from Crawford had her throat slashed. I'm no detective, but if I were to guess, I'd say the guy who just attacked you—"

"Dustin. He's Tatiana's man… or was; I still don't know how much she had to do with this," Santana comments. Cooper's relieved she's cooperating on some level but he doesn't like that insinuation. He gets an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

"Was Tatiana there? I didn't see her."

"Nope. Just her jackass fiancée," Santana says. She looks out the window, away from Cooper. The reality of the situation is crashing down on her. "So, it's happening huh? The long talked about war between the shit-heads and the douchebags."

Cooper doesn't know how to answer that. Instead, he asks her a question, "Why would you targeted?"

"Isn't that obvious? It's because of my sperm-donor. I don't know how the hell they were going to do it but I'm guessing they wanted to use me to get to him." Santana laughs with no real emotion behind it. "Jokes on them. He wouldn't have given two shits if I had been kidnapped."

"I'm sure that's not true—"

"It's true," Santana affirms with enough passion that Cooper can believe she believes it. He's not a father. He's not even paternal to be frank. One of the many things he and Chelsea had in common was that they never wanted kids. If he were a father, however, he'd be crushed if his kids ever believed he didn't love them. Andre's not him—he didn't just miss out on Santana's life, but a lot of Tatiana's too; and Blaine's. Now that Cooper thinks about it, why would Santana ever think her father gives a damn about her? Well, he doesn't have a choice now—for whatever reason they wanted Santana and if they did, it could only hurt Andre. "So, what the hell were you doing there?"

Cooper smirks at long last. Santana rolls her eyes when he answers, "I asked you first."

She must know she doesn't have a choice but to trust him. Santana grits her teeth. "Tatiana called me to say she was in danger and needed to leave. She told me she had the Phoenix, too, and wanted to give it to me."

"The Phoenix?" Cooper asks, wondering where he had heard that before.

"It's a necklace—a phasmara to use the 'dictionary' term," Santana explains. He's heard the term before, not for a while though. A phasmara was an item that could be used to harness energy. It did this by collecting a little of a person's energy every so often and keeping it inside the object. They were considered valuable because it took an experienced soothsayer to make one. Being a soothsayer is a rare enough power on its own; it's almost unheard of for them to become powerful enough to give power to an inanimate object. Anyone who owned a phasmara had the ability to store energy and call upon it whenever they wanted. In cases of having energy drained, it could also revive people—however, in most of those cases, it would be necessary for the person revived to wear the phasmara to stay alive. He's heard that people revived by a phasmara have died the moment they take off the item. Making them is illegal by GAIA standards now because people killed and died for them. Also, who knew what could happen if one person collected too much energy? It's not illegal to own one, but so many were destroyed that Cooper's never seen one before, nor has he heard of anyone owning one. "It was Jon Moretta's, my granddad if you want to call him that. He got it from Merida Lane, a psychic. Well, 'stole' is the more accurate word. Her daughter and Jon were like dating or engaged— if you thought Andre's track record was fucked up, you should see his dad's—anyway, so the daughter took the necklace from her mom as a gift for Jon and it's been in the Moretta family ever since. Tatiana's the only 'legitimate' Moretta, so it'd make sense that it'd go to her."

So that's where he's heard about it before. Tatiana told him about it a long time ago. Granted, they were both a little drunk and it was nearly ten years ago but it hits him clear as day once Santana says that. "Except why would she give it to you? It's not like you guys are super close."

Santana snorts. "I thought the same thing, but she said she couldn't keep it and that she rather I have it than Andre, which I can believe. If she was in trouble with Sovereign, I don't think she'd have anyone she could give it to."

Well, okay, that did make sense. Tatiana isn't exactly booming with friends so if she were some sort of danger, Santana may have been the only person she could rely on besides him. He imagines the idea of having something that powerful may have overridden Santana's caution as well. "But she wasn't there, right? You didn't see her? Maybe she's in trouble too."

"Really? You suppose Dustin found out about the Phoenix all on his lonesome?" Santana barks, barely twitching in pain when she shifts in her seat. Cooper still didn't want to believe Tatiana could turn against her sister. He still wants to believe in the good in her.

"No but maybe with that one girl's help. I mean, I don't know what she was doing to you but it didn't look pretty. I imagine something like could make someone do just about anything to stop it," Cooper points out. Santana's shoulders release some tension and he realizes that she didn't want to believe Tatiana turned on them either. It's still far more likely that Tatiana is working with Dustin, but at least this way; they can believe she's still on their side.

He starts pulling into the neighborhood Santana said her house was in. When they approach her house, it becomes clear something is wrong. There are cars parked in her driveway and out in the street.

Cooper's chest tightens when he sees his mother standing on the front lawn. Santana scowls. "Did you text her or something?! I thought I told you to butt-the-hell-out!"

"You've been here the whole time, you know I didn't message her," Cooper grumbles, pulling over to the side of the street. He opens the car door and turns to tell Santana to stay inside but she's already out of the car. Robin turns around at that very moment and her eyes widen.

"Cooper? I thought you were—Santana!" Robin gasps likes she's just seen a ghost. Santana practically growls at Robin while Cooper walks towards her.

"Mom, Santana was attacked at Tatiana's apartment. Someone's trying to kidnap her and—"

"I know, believe me I know," she says, her tone becoming very somber. Santana narrows her eyes.

"What the—why are you at my house? Why are all these cars here?" Santana asks. Robin bites her lip.

"Let me go get Andre…"

The girl's eyes widen. "That asshole is here?! Why the hell is he here?" Cooper looks at his mother's eyes and it clicks for him. He's knows that look all too well, unfortunately. His mother's tone is dark and unsteady. She only uses it when she reports horrible news. Santana doesn't need to be raised by this woman to know what it means; she stomps her foot. "God damn it, answer me!"

"It would really be better if you heard this from your father," Robin tries.

"I don't give a fuck who I hear it from, just tell me! Where's my mom?! Where's Brittany?!" Santana screams. Cooper looks behind his mom and sees Andre walking out of the house. With him is a blonde girl about Santana's age—her skin is bone-pale in contrast with the black blanket wrapped around her body. The girl he presumes is Brittany is clutching on to Andre for dear life. Her eyes looking down, almost like she doesn't want to see anything anymore.

Next a group comes out. Acid burns his throat as he battles the urge to throw up. Four GAIA clean-up employees, the same sort who helped Robin clean-up Blaine's mess after the Sadie Hawkins dance, come out guiding a gurney. Upon it, a form mostly covered in a sheet. He squints closer and sees a woman's head lulling to the side. It's Maribel Lopez, Cooper quickly realizes. For the most part, she's peaceful. Her beautiful dark eyes are closed, her laugh lines invisible now that her face is completely relaxed

Santana's eyes catch where Cooper is looking. Santana body pauses—no breath leaves her body, no movement in her eyes. Everything is frozen; life has stopped for a brief second as this is surely etched in Santana's memory, as well as his. He's sure he'll never forget the expression of agony on her face, or the way his mother closes her eyes as if she expected this.

Then the moment passes and Santana starts moving again. Faster than Cooper can register, Santana runs over and stops the gurney from moving. Andre sees his daughter and inhales. "Santana, don't—"

One of the GAIA employees reach out to catch her but Santana grabs the sheet and pulls it down.

Santana's eyes are watering as she reaches out to stroke her mother's cheek. Her body is thrashed as bones are unnaturally jutting in her arms and stomach. Blood is starting seep from places Cooper couldn't possibly imagine—ears, fingernails, mouth. Whoever did this didn't just want to kill her; they wanted to do in the most gruesome way possible. Cooper looks down and sees Maribel's wrist is turned outward so her pulse is facing away from her body. He cringes, as it must have been completely broken to look that way.

He also sees an 'x' on her wrist that's leaking blood. It's not on a spot where it would kill her but it wasn't painless either. Cooper loses the battle with his reflexes, and turns away from his mother in time to vomit onto the grass.

Reality hits him hard and now he can't escape it.

()()()()()()()

"Dude, what are we looking for again?" Finn asks as Kurt leads them up into the attic.

Kurt rolls his eyes and switches on the light bulb. It barely illuminates the cramped area but he can read the words on the cardboard boxes, which is good enough for him. Finn has to crouch to accommodate his height but does so without complaint so Kurt explains once more, "Anything that belonged to my mother. Something valuable and important to her. All the sites I use for research say that using a personal item might be our best chance to talk to the dead."

"Haven't you talked to dead people without using stuff before?" Finn asks. Kurt nods, but this is different. He's only talked to Renee and Sebastian—one recently dead and the other a vengeful spirit. His mother's been dead for eight years and she's made no attempt to contact him. Kurt's mother's powers suggested maybe she could have stayed around for a very long time, but if she could, wouldn't she have watched over him? Wouldn't he have been able to hear her? Kurt just hopes that if he makes an attempt to contact her, his mom will answer back. He doesn't know what he'll do if she doesn't.

Kurt finds the first box with _Liz _written on it, next to a box of Finn's father's things. He pulls it out into the low light and tugs it open. He curses. It's all clothing, nice things that his mother probably liked, but nothing he would deem personal. Finn kneels down. "Is there anything you can use in here?"

"I don't think so. I remember her wearing some of this stuff but…" Kurt pushes it away and grabs another box with her name on it. More clothes. He pushes it aside and finds a trunk made of worn leather. He might have thought it belonged to Finn's father if it weren't for the flowery inscriptions that marked it most assuredly female. The trunk itself looked valuable so surely, she'd keep her more important things in there, wouldn't she? Kurt pops open the trunk and-

Groans when he sees there are only a few novels and a quilt. He tosses the quilt over the books in frustration. "I'm starting to think this is hopeless."

Kurt looks at Finn and sighs. Finn opted to go through the box with his father's name on it. He's holding an old army helmet and staring at Kurt. "It's all right. We got a ton of stuff in here. We'll find something—"

"Finn, my mom was almost 200 years old, maybe older, when she died. She's had a lot of things and known a lot of people in that time. What could possibly be sentimental to someone who's lived so many lives?" Kurt asks, more himself than Finn even though he addressed his stepbrother.

That's all Kurt can think about lately, at least until Renee's death. Elizabeth's name came with a lot of faces—faces of people she probably knew and loved. People who lived and died right in front of her. The things that would traumatize a person once in their lifetime his mother has probably seen over and over again. Yet, she still played mother to him and wife to his father—how much of that was a lie? It seems like everything else she told was. Most of all, he thinks about how she isn't here; how she knew he'd need protection but has failed to protect him. With all the secrets coming out, Kurt wouldn't be surprised if he and his father were just pawns to her. His dad was her front, and Kurt was just her replacement.

Finn doesn't answer the question. He lifts up an army jacket and holds it up against his body. Kurt could tell immediately it would fit Finn perfectly, just as he would suspect. Finn has Carole's skin and her smile but not much else, meaning he'd had to look a great deal like his dad.

Jealousy sparks within Kurt. Why does Finn get to look through his father's belongings with ease? Why did Finn get two completely normal parents while Kurt had the queen of abnormal as his mother? Why isn't Finn the one hopelessly grasping at straws while trying to save more people from getting killed? Why wasn't Finn the one who got sixteen years of lies, secrets, and hidden identity?

Why is Finn the one who gets to be human?

"Do you think maybe if we contact your mom, we can talk to my dad too?" he asks. Kurt presses against his own temple, releasing a long breath. Kurt shouldn't be so mad at Finn; it's not his fault that a government he barely knows about is falling apart. It's a question Kurt's sure he'd ask if the roles were reversed. Actually, it'd be pretty awesome if Kurt could just ask someone—

Wait a minute. _Sebastian._

"Oh my god, I'm an idiot," Kurt murmurs, pulling out his cell phone and calling Blaine. Blaine says he hasn't felt his presence since the night of Rachel's party, which was almost three weeks ago. That didn't mean he was gone—he might have just been biding his time. Waiting for a weakness in Blaine's defenses.

"Hi Kurt." Blaine sounds glad to hear from Kurt but mostly exhausted after the events of last night. Kurt feels awful knowing how hard it was for Blaine to see Renee's body, but he can't help thinking maybe, just maybe Blaine had a nightmare. One strong enough to beckon Sebastian.

"Blaine, have you felt Sebastian around lately? Seen him in any dreams? It's important," Kurt assures.

"Not recently..." Blaine trails off with a hint of confusion. Kurt groans which makes Finn raise an eyebrow. "That's a good thing though, isn't it?"

"It would be if he wasn't the only person who might be able to help me contact my mom. You didn't have a nightmare last night?" Kurt replies. His heart's racing, his mind blaring like a loud noise has gone off in his ear. Sebastian only showed up when Blaine was tormented about his past. He hates that he's actually hoping Blaine's had a nightmare but this could be the only way to keep other people safe.

"Well—no. I thought maybe last night, but I didn't really dream. Kurt, do you think it's a good idea to try and get Sebastian to help us?"

He looks at the open boxes of his mother's things—things, not possessions she valued. He blows the hair out of his face. "I don't know what else to do Blaine."

"No, I get it. It's just..." He hears Blaine groan in frustration. "He hasn't been around. I don't feel the depression I felt when he was around."

Kurt closes his eyes. If he hasn't been visiting Blaine, maybe he isn't even around anymore. Blaine then says, "Except, well, Wes was complaining that a lot of the guys have been having…uh, sex dreams lately."

Kurt doesn't know how to respond to that. The blaring stops only out of confusion. What did that have to do with anything? Kurt almost has nothing to say—almost. He manages to tell him, "As glad as I am that the student body at Dalton are normal, functioning boys, I don't see—"

"Honey, didn't you tell me that Trent said Sebastian got energy by appearing in boys wet dreams? I'm not so sure he hasn't done it to me." Possessiveness doesn't flare inside Kurt, instead, he feels hope. Sebastian might not be gone after all if he has other places to get energy. It's the most excited he's been in almost 24 hours.

"You're right," Kurt breathes. His shoulders go slack. "That doesn't help us much. We can't trace him through a sea of desperation and sexual desire."

"So use me as bait."

"No, absolutely not." Although, hadn't Kurt just been hoping that Sebastian visited Blaine? It's one thing for Sebastian to come to Blaine when it's out of his control, but it's another to intentionally put Blaine's mentality in danger to catch a ghost who _may _help Kurt. It's a pretty hopeful 'may,' too.

"Kurt," Blaine says very somberly. "We can't have anyone else die like Renee did. If Sebastian can help, I don't think we have any other choice."

Kurt doesn't like it at all, but Blaine's right. Sebastian couldn't kill Blaine, but as long as Renee's killer is on the loose, Blaine's life would be as in danger as hers was. He might be in even more danger. "Damn it," Kurt says thus catching Finn's attention once more. "Okay, fine, we don't have a choice, but it's not that easy. You've worked so hard to get over the Sadie Hawkins dance, how are we supposed to get you emotional enough to get Sebastian's attention?"

It's silent. Then Blaine answers, "I…uh, well…"

"What about Blaine's mom? Couldn't she make him feel really bummed about it?" Finn asks. For as long as Kurt's known Finn, he shouldn't be surprised when these little moments of sheer brilliance come through. Now that he thinks about it, why didn't they think of Robin to begin with?

The idea seems simple anyway. Kurt just didn't know how he was going to convince Robin to intentionally hurt Blaine.

()()()()()()()

"Broken arms, fractured knees, broken ribs, a nearly broken neck—it's nothing less than a miracle she's alive, though I don't think miracles have anything to do with it," Dr. Rosella Marcus has been at GAIA for years. She twists her long grey hair into a bun and pushes up her thick black frames back up her nose. Robin's never had a problem with the GAIA doctor but the entire room is unbearably tense as Rosella explains Maribel's condition.

Santana and Brittany are huddled close together on one end of the couch while Cooper sits on the other side; each of them giving off different levels of negative emotions. Robin swallows just to try and wet her throat but that makes the knot in her stomach twist even further. Even the emotionally mild Andre is giving off intense waves of anxiousness and fear. The only person who isn't setting off her powers is the patient.

Maribel's attached to a number of machines, one of which was an IV bag with enough pain medication to sedate a horse. Not that it would matter—she's been in a coma since Andre and Robin arrived at her house after receiving her frantic phone call. Unfortunately, not much more than screaming was heard before the line went dead but Robin ordered Jeremiah to go over the phone message anyway. That being said, there's only so much technology would do, and in this case, it looked like it'd be nothing.

"How long is she going to be out?" Santana asks with a hoarse voice. Her chest is wrapped up as Andre demanded Santana be seen as quickly as possible. All she had was a cracked rib but with as distrustful as Santana is of GAIA, she barely agreed to let Rosella look her over. Rosella looks to Andre for confirmation and that, apparently, is Santana's breaking point. "Hey! She's my mom! Tell me!"

"It's hard to say. It could be a few days or it could be a few weeks. Right now, that coma is the only thing keeping her from the most horrible pain she'll ever feel. That and the drugs," Rosella says, crossing her arms and leaning back against the counter. Even if Robin didn't feel it, she'd see just how exhausted the doctor is. "I have to take a closer look at the x-rays. Surgery's still not out of the question but fast-healing is one of her abilities so maybe not."

Rosella pushes up and walks out, whispering something to Andre along the way. Andre follows her, earning both him and the doctor a glare from Santana. Then again, whom in this room, besides Brittany, didn't Santana hate? Robin sits on the arm of Cooper's side of the couch and leans over to whisper, "So obviously, I didn't get all the details about what happened…"

"Tatiana's fiancée jumped our little lady over here. Santana said his name's Dustin Goolsby." Robin remembers the name from somewhere but she can't completely recall from where. "I don't know where she is. Do you think he killed that girl?"

"I don't know but he didn't do this. Maybe arranged, but he didn't do it. He couldn't have been there and here—"

"No, but he's not alone. He had a girl that some kind of strength or weird compulsion and that was one of the ones Santana didn't beat the shit out of. He had at least three more with him," Cooper tells her. She puts her hand on his shoulder. She hasn't heard him sound so hopeless since Chelsea was taken from him. "So, this is a bigger cluster fuck than you told me."

"Honestly hon, I have no idea how big of a mess we're facing." There's some shouting out in the hall. It's loud enough that Robin closes her eyes. "I have a feeling I'm about to find out though."

Robin stands up and rushes out into the hall. Rosella is gone but Andre is still there. He's in the face of one man with another man standing off to the side and watching cautiously. Both men are polar opposites in most ways— the man Andre is arguing with is several inches shorter than Andre is, while the other man is several inches taller; the shorter man is pale white while the other has dark-skin; the short man has young, chubby features while the taller man has narrow yet wrinkled features. Despite their differences, they were both wearing identical black suits with identical gold badges.

It reads NAT. GAIA. The lump that's been building in Robin's throat is now nearly cutting off her breath. The National Section of GAIA.

"What's going on?" Robin whispers. She clears her throat and repeats in a louder voice, "Gentlemen, with all due respect—"

She stops when everyone turns to face her. It's clear her presence isn't expected or welcomed. Nonetheless, the shorter man steps past Andre. "And," he says, continuing the conversation (argument) he was having with Andre, "among other things, Agent Moretta, it seems you have to train your subordinates to have a little respect for privacy."

Robin glares at him. "Actually sir, I'm the Head of Integration, Robin Anderson. I'm also Mr. Moretta's partner with the investigation, which I'm sure is what brought you here."

"An investigation that's gone off the rails. Now as well as already putting lives in danger, Mr. Moretta wants to put the secret of our existence in danger," the taller agent says. Robin turns to Andre out of confusion.

Andre grits his teeth and tells her, "Agent Fairchild and Agent Lee want to clear out Brittany's memory."

_Oh no_, Robin thinks. That would break Santana. Robin knows a thing or two about secret relationships and she's almost positive Brittany and Santana are in one (if the cuddling was any indication. Santana didn't seem like a cuddler). The poor girl's already been attacked and had her mother taken away in such a short amount of time. The last thing she needed was to lose her rock too. It's hard enough to get Santana to trust them; if GAIA did this, they'd never get her to help them.

They need to find a way to work the law in their favor. Fortunately, Robin knows a lawyer.

**Thus the end of chapter 26. Honestly, I had so much more I wanted to write in this chapter. If I continued writing everything I wanted to write though, it would have been way longer before I got this updated. Besides that, I've been feeling productive this week, so who knows what could happen? :)**

**In any case, another big thank you to my readers, reviewers, followers, and people who have added this story to their favorites! You guys are fantastic as always! Also, a big thank you to my beta, irishflute! My awesome, awesome, awesome beta! **

**Rori Potter- Well, I thought it was soon—then I looked and realized it was nearly a month later. So close to being a quick update! All well, hope you enjoy it anyway :) Thanks for reviewing!**

**cold kagome- Thanks! Yeah, but I think if my boyfriend were in a similar situation (or about as similar as a real life could be to this situation, lol) I think I'd be mad too. Thanks for reviewing!**

**ToniBalogna978- I know, so many questions! But they should (and I feel like I say this all the time, lol) be answered one by one soon. More action sequences are coming as well :) Thanks dear! Glad you liked it! Thanks for reviewing!**

**AlexCardew- Yeah, lol, I remember describing this scene to my beta and saying "Santana does a bunch of badass stuff". Some more ass kicking will be coming! Thanks for reviewing!**

**msdarque- Thanks! I try to keep things exciting (sometimes to the point of being overdramatic but hey, at least it's not predictable, lol). Thank you for the review!**

**thexkat- Definitely more serious! Yeah, I was really worried about whether or not it would fit Santana's character, but I figured if there was a big enough reason for her to go there (which we'll learn more about this chapter) it would work. One of my favorite Cooper moments thus far! I know, Blaine's such a sweetie. We have a little bit of Klaine this chapter—not a lot, but a scene anyway. Lol, glad that's good because I don't it's going to get any easier for Kurt. He is superhuman royalty after all. We'll be seeing more of Jesse soon and have a clearer idea of which side he's on ;) A don't kill Robin campaign, huh? Well…can't say one way or another but I do appreciate how much you like her! Especially since she's an OC :) Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for the review!**

**TwilightEclps- Thanks! Glad you enjoy it! Thanks for reviewing!**

**CastleQuill- Thanks dear! Yes, sometimes it gets a bit overdramatic—I like to joke that this story is inspired by my love for soap operas, lol. Some times I don't even know what happens. Sometimes, I decided to do something and then when I actually write it, it turns out to be something different, lol. Glad you love it! Thanks for reviewing. And, I agree, Cooper is amazing!**

**GleekyPatronusWolfyStarkid- Thanks sweetie! Hope you like the new chapter. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Rin- Aw, thank you so much! It means a lot that people like her (especially since she's an OC and she's done something that's difficult to overcome and be liked). I love writing both Blaine and Robin scenes and Kurt and Robin scenes. In many ways, she's like a second mother to him (and you know, if they get married, she'd be like the perfect mother-in-law, lol). Honestly, I'd be over the moon if we got to see Blaine's mom on the show, even if she's not like Robin—and she's not a complete bitch. As for the side story suggestions, I'm happy to say we'll be seeing some more TrentXSugar soon! We'll also learn more about Katherine. We'll also be seeing more Wes soon.**

**Thanks! I like using the dialogues and putting them in different situations. It's just kind of a nice salute to the show itself. I'm hoping to transfer a bit farther from angsty and more into action, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't like angst. Opps! Hope your brother isn't too mad. In any case, glad you like the fic! Thanks so much for reviewing and for your kind words!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- Agreed! Especially since asshat is such a fun name to use! I like CoopTana as a name too! Glad you liked that scene. I think they'll be more to come :) Thanks for reviewing dear!**

**Megachrisfan- Thanks! Yes, Dustin isn't all powerful—he's powerful but not too powerful without his team. They'll still be quite a match for Kurt and Blaine. Thanks for reviewing!**


	27. Chapter 27

_Crash!_

"Get the fuck away from her!" Santana growls, grabbing a television remote and chucking that next while Brittany huddles behind her. Agent Fairchild and Agent Lee dodge the remote just as they had the vase Santana threw when they first entered. Andre stands off to the side, lips pursed together, but he makes no attempts to stop his angry child.

Agent Fairchild glares over at Andre. "Would you control your daughter?"

"I'd like to see you try! I'll go Lima Height on all of you if you don't get out of my mom's room!" Santana's eyes are starting to blue where they were supposed to be white. Brittany shakes and tightens her arms around Santana like she's the one being shouted at. Santana grabs the pitcher of water sitting on Maribel's nightstand and winds her arm back, the water freezing to solid ice.

"Stop!" Robin calls out as she runs into the room. Santana turns her eyes towards Robin, causing the frozen pitcher to fall halfway. The glass shatters and bits of ice slide across the floor at the agents' feet. This time, Andre prepares to step in because he knows there isn't much stopping Santana from hurting him and there's certainly nothing stopping her from hurting Robin. Santana glares and pushes herself and Brittany closer to Maribel's bed if only because she's running out of things to throw.

"Ms. Anderson, we have the situation handled. Another body would only complicate things," Agent Lee says, eyes narrowing at Santana. Robin puts herself between Santana and the agents.

"It's obvious you don't and I wasn't talking to her, I was talking to you two! What you're doing is against the law."

Andre doesn't show it but he's confused. It's always been the law to keep humans from knowing GAIA's secrets, not for them to find out. Agent Fairchild snorts. "I think we know the laws of GAIA better than an integration head!"

Robin smiles and crosses her arms. It seems impossible, but the confidence is so radiant that a warm feeling mixes with the nervousness inside of Andre at the sight. So many times, that superior look has been used against him; he never noticed how much power it really held until he saw it used on someone else. "Maybe so, but I doubt you know the laws better than a lawyer."

"Gentlemen," a voice announces. Andre, like everyone else besides Robin, turns towards the voice and feels sick enough to puke.

He's met Floyd Anderson a few times before now. Once at an office party, again when he visited Robin at GAIA, and the last time he ever saw Floyd was when Blaine had been born and Andre had brought flowers to the house. His plans, naturally, were much deeper than that—he wanted to see if he could tell whether or not the baby was his. He wonders if Robin knew about that since she had been napping (or so Floyd said. Andre doesn't make his dislike of Floyd a secret, so he's sure the feelings are mutual) and Floyd accepted the gift on her behalf. Sometimes, he just wanted Floyd to know the truth, if only to wipe off that smug 'I-married-a-superhuman' look off his face. Needless to say, Andre's less than pleased to see the love-of-his-life's husband here.

Floyd, holding a book in his hands, moves to stand beside Robin, towering over her and, metaphorically, everyone else in the room. He's got a commanding presence, which is impressive in a room full of people who could rip him apart.

"This is my husband and my lawyer, Floyd Anderson. He's also a human so he's very familiar with GAIA laws regarding human inclusion," Robin explains.

Fairchild's fists crack as they squeeze, his face is still set hard. "And what laws are we supposedly stepping all over, Mr. Anderson?"

Floyd holds up the red-velvet cover book—the GAIA book of laws. "7.34: The Declassified Act." Floyd lowers the book and cracks it open; flipping through the pages until he finds the one he's looking for. With a small _smack_, his finger hits the page. "A humanus, or human, may be granted classified information if said human holds information that's considered substantial. This pertains to information regarding the health, well-being, and privacy of humans or immortalis a.k.a superhumans."

"What interpretation do you take from that little passage, Mr. Anderson?" Agent Lee asks.

Floyd uses his thumb to keep his place in the book and looks up at the men. "Brittany Pierce has information that's vital for Mr. Moretta and Mrs. Anderson's murder investigation. As long as that killer, the same one who murdered Renee Lorenzo and put Maribel Lopez in a coma, is on the loose, the safety or well-being of superhumans and humans alike are at risk. As a lawyer, allow me to inform you that it is extremely ill advised to put your people at risk just to prove a point to Mr. Moretta."

Fairchild and Lee are still as statues. Brittany looks up for the first time with something other than tears in her eyes—hope. Even Santana is standing a little prouder.

"Let me see that," Fairchild commands. Floyd smiles and walks over, handing them the book. Fairchild grabs the book and looks through it with Lee reading over his shoulder. Andre can't feel excitement or fear—it's like the part of his brain that feels emotion is blocked from the rest of his body.

The book closes with a slam. The agents don't have to say anything—they know they've lost. Agent Lee clears his throat. "It appears we have no choice but to take your legal advice, Mr. Anderson."

The way Robin takes a tight hold of Floyd's hand sends heat to Andre's fingertips. That flares higher when a scream rips from Santana's throat. She crashes to the ground at Brittany's feet. Brittany screams along with her. The block breaks and Andre directs his gold eyes towards Fairchild who stares at Santana.

When Santana rolls over, blood is rolling like tears from Santana's eyes while red stains her lips. Andre sends a fire bolt from his hands and strikes the wall beside Fairchild. Fairchild's eyes turn to Andre and he feels it—his heartbeat speeds and his brain pounds hard against his skull. Blood shoots up his throat and he can't breathe.

He barely sees Floyd wraps his arms around Robin to keep her from attacking the agents. "Leave them alone! STOP!"

"I think they get the point, Agent Fairchild." Fairchild breaks his gaze. Both Andre and Santana take a deep breath and fight to keep it. Brittany quiets and strokes Santana's hair to comfort her. Agent Lee continues. "We'll be watching this case very closely and I don't think we have to say what will happen if things get out of control."

The agents proceed to walk out, leaving behind their path of destruction. Robin swallows and says in a low, shaky voice. "There has to be something we can do. That has to be illegal!"

"They're allowed to punish people who step out of line. She attacked them and so did Andre," Floyd replies.

"He was defending his daughter!" Robin reaches out her hand to Andre but he pushes it away. Robin recoils her hand like she's been bitten. Andre just brushes the blood away from his mouth and walks out. All the feelings that went numb when he first saw Floyd are coming through now. Years and years of contempt, anger, and hopelessness fall upon his shoulders. He'd rather deal with Fairchild's excruciating powers than open that can again.

Robin slams the door shut behind her when she follows Andre out. "What is your problem?! Hey! I'm talking to you!" She grabs Andre's shoulder and forces him to turn around and face her. He jerks his body away from her.

"My problem?! How dare you bring him into this without consulting me!"

Robin looks shock for a moment; then she fakes a laugh. "Excuse me? He kept those assholes from erasing Brittany's memory, which would have broken Santana. She would have never worked with us if you had allowed that to happen!"

"I could have handled the situation just fine."

"Clearly, you don't! I thought we were finally—FINALLY—on the same page, and then you have to bring your prejudices into this whole situation!"

Andre rolls his eyes. "I have no idea what you're talking about…"

"I bet you would have been just fine if Brittany had her memory erased because, god forbid, a human do your job better than you! You can't stand the idea that anyone would demean themselves by marrying a normal person. You just hate it that a human -" Robin continues in a quiet hiss. "-raised Blaine."

Andre feels like exploding; he feels like shouting to the world the very thing Robin was insinuating. He can't though. Not with Floyd so close by. He has to bite his tongue for her- again.

No, screw that. "I don't hate humans and I don't hate that he saved Brittany's memory. I hate him because he loves you! And I hate that he loves you because _I_ love you!" Andre whispers. Robin's eyes widen as her mouth opens. He watches as all the pieces click together in her brain. "I loathed that he got to raise my son with the woman I loved but I kept my damn mouth shut because that's what you wanted. How could you not see that? Why would I want to be anywhere near him!?"

"Andre…" Robin doesn't know what to say. What could she say? He can't even try and take it back because he knows she can feel it. Andre rubs a hand over his face and starts backing away.

"I have to get a doctor for my daughter." Then he turns around and doesn't look back. He walks farther and farther away from the pain, the knife in his heart, the parasite on his soul.

The woman he loves.

()()()()()()()

Trent hasn't been to a funeral since his parents died. He wouldn't go to Renee's if Sugar hadn't asked him to go with her. The car pulls in front of the funeral home and the driver gets out to open the door. Trent knows when he steps out he should offer his hand to help Sugar out but out of habit, he doesn't. She pulls herself up on her wobbly black-heels and forces her arm to loop with Trent's. She's, for once, dressed appropriately for the occasion, wearing a modest black dress, a black scarf, and black gloves—though her jacket is leopard print, but for Sugar, it's close enough to decent. The church is filling quickly as mourners ushered themselves in the funeral home. Girls are wearing heavy makeup (_that would only smear_, Trent can't help thinking) as if to hide their life in the face of death. Trent sees flashes of white tissues among the dark clothing—clear in view and meant to be seen. "A lot of people are here already."

"Duh. This is the biggest thing to happen in years. Are the Warblers coming?" Trent nods. Kurt told him he would be coming with Blaine's family. As for the other Warblers, they still weren't talking to Trent, but he knew they'd be there.

"Is your dad coming by at all?"

Sugar blows a huff of air out her nose in annoyance. "No. He's busy."

"Well, he intimidates people, so maybe that's a good thing." Sugar smirks but it goes away once they step foot into the funeral home. The chairs are full of people wearing suits and black dresses. The aura is mottled with bits and pieces of compulsion to keep the crowd calm and tranquil, likely to keep the political drama surrounding Renee's death from ruining her funeral. Towards the front, there's a closed ivory colored coffin with a rose arrangement of roses on top. Kurt said he didn't think Renee's body would be shown, but somehow, the closed coffin is more haunting than a closed one would have been. When you see a body laid out, you can pretend the person is sleeping—you can even make the distinction between that person and their soul. A coffin is the ultimate symbol of death and all anyone knows is that inside is Renee but not as they knew her. Not that Trent knew Renee that well, but its clear Sugar did as they walk up the coffin.

She places a gloved hand over a rose and rubs a petal between two fingers. "I didn't realize you two were friends," he says quietly. Sugar shrugs.

"We weren't. Not really. She was still nice to me after the Cindys kicked me off," Sugar says. Trent automatically looks at the group of girls sitting in the second and third rows. Katherine sits closest to where the family will be seated—fitting since Katherine is the leader of the Cindys. What Trent barely notices is the way each of the girls glances in their direction. Their mouths make no visibly movement but their brows crinkle and eyes squint in disgust. Katherine is the first to look away, but Trent can still see the tension in her body at their presence.

He thinks maybe there's more to Sugar's comment than just her getting kicked off the Cindys. Were the Cindys actually mean to her? That seems unlikely—Katherine's always been nice enough and none of the other Cindys have gone out of their way to make anyone uncomfortable before. Besides, a funeral is hardly the place to bring school dramatics. He's positive word got around to them from the Warblers. They know what Trent is and they despise him for it. Could they even think they he might have—

No, they couldn't. Maybe people hate that he's an absorber. Maybe they didn't trust him. That didn't mean they thought he was a murderer.

"Come on, T, let's go get a seat." Sugar grabs his hand and the two find a seat in the back, far away from the judgment of the Cindys. They take their seats and Sugar releases his hand so she can remove her scarf from her neck. Trent can't help but notice her necklace because it's nothing he's ever seen Sugar wear. Sugar tends to dress like a Real Housewives cast member; however, the necklace is elegant. A bright silver design contrasts with the faded red pendent below. The design appears to mostly flowers with two birds on either side of the largest one.

"That doesn't match your coat, you know."

Sugar glances down at the necklace. "So? I like it."

"It's nice," He tries to add without any sarcastic shock. He fails as Sugar slugs him lightly in the arm. The two share very small smiles before they remember they're mourners.

()()()()()()()

"Is Robin not coming?" Kurt asks as he, Blaine, and Cooper walk into the funeral home. He thought when the Anderson matriarch didn't ride with them that maybe she just got caught up at work and would meet them there.

"She thought her presence would be more a problem than a comfort. No body's really happy with GAIA right now, so I guess I can't blame her for thinking that," Blaine replies. Cooper snorts.

"Posers. I was mad at GAIA before it was cool." Blaine glares at his brother. "Well, I was."

"But maybe a funeral isn't the best place to say things like that," Blaine grumbles. Kurt tries to find the humor in what Cooper said but he just can't. He isn't comfortable at all—then again, who is? It's ironic that funerals are supposed to be places where grief can be expressed, but everyone is stepping on eggshells here. Everyone is talking about Renee but no one is saying anything about how she was killed. To Kurt, the room is suffocating with ignorance and as history has shown, ignorance could be dangerous.

Everyone should be afraid but they shouldn't be suppressed by their fear.

The Warblers are sitting up in the fifth row for the most part, save for David, who's sitting next to Katherine. He knows Blaine wants to sit with them but Kurt sees Trent sitting in the back row. No one is sitting with him except a thin brunette girl with almond shaped black eyes. She and Trent look so alone sitting there with none of their schoolmates around. Though if Kurt were to guess, no one invited them either.

That makes up Kurt's mind for him. He grabs Blaine's hand and Cooper's sleeve so he can drag them over to Trent. This earns him a curious look from Cooper and a unsure one from Blaine. Trent, on the other hand, is so happy to see them he jumps up and almost hugs them. He forces his hands into his pockets before he can. "Hey."

"Hi Trent. Mind if we sit with you?" Kurt asks. Trent nods and they all sit down. The girl moves forward to stare at them. Kurt notices that she grabs Trent hand without hesitation or fear.

"Oh, sorry…Kurt, Blaine, Cooper, this is Sugar Motta. Sugar, these are my friends Kurt and Blaine, and Blaine's older brother—"

"You're that free credit guy," Sugar says with a smile. Cooper smiles right back, leaning over to offer more of his charm. Then Sugar adds almost mockingly, "I hate that song. Sorry. Aspergers."

Cooper's eyes narrow but before he can come up with a comeback, music starts to play towards the front. Suddenly, the air changes from social to silent. The reverend starts speaking, delivering words of prayer that fill the void everyone is sharing. Kurt, who's never been religious, bows his head along with everyone else during the opening prayer. During that time, he quietly remembers the last time he had seen Renee in the field—the promise he had made her. He fully intended on keeping that promise but he didn't know where to even start.

The prayer passed and they were allowed to raise their head and open their eyes, though they soon filled with tears. The Reverend does the eulogy, painting the life of the young girl like a portrait to be admired and thought upon. He speaks these words of wisdom until he invites people to come up and speak—it's hardly any surprise when Katherine stands and makes her way to the front.

"Renee was an extraordinarily beautiful person. Every day, just knowing her brightened our lives. Personally, I considered her one of my most cherished friends—I don't know how we could ever fill the place she left in our hearts." Katherine starts sobbing at the stand. David walks up and wraps an arm around her, leading her back to her spot. A few more Cindys stand and give heartwarming speeches, followed by a few relatives. Renee's sister Victoria, a 12-year-old and around the age where she would receive his powers if she hasn't already, makes her way to the front and reads a poem by Emily Dickinson, Kurt pinpoints.

"_'T was a long parting, but the time  
For interview had come;  
Before the judgment-seat of God,  
The last and second time_

_These __**flesh**__less lovers met,  
A __**heaven**__ in a gaze,  
A __**heaven**__ of __**heaven**__s, the privilege,  
Of one another's eyes._

_No lifetime set on them,  
Apparelled as the new  
Unborn, except they had beheld,  
Born everlasting now._

_Was __**bridal**__ e'er like this?  
A paradise, the host,  
And __**cherubim**__ and seraphim  
The most familiar guest."_

Kurt takes a breath. It's a poem he's familiar with. It's called _Resurrection_—an odd poem to read at clearly religious funeral to begin with but the way she reads is the most eerie. Victoria, with soft, nervous, brown eyes, puts emphasis on words that are out of the rhythm with the poem. Victoria looks towards the back as she folds up the poem and puts it back in her pocket. As she sits down, her eyes don't move from Kurt.

He can't focus on the next couple people who get up and speak. His attention is instead on what Victoria was trying to tell him and how she would know to tell him unless…

Unless Renee contacted her somehow.

They end with another prayer and they rise. One by one, the rows emptied and walked up front to pay their respects to Renee and her family. Kurt glides his hand along the coffin—the slick surface freezing his flesh along the way.

There isn't much to say to either of Renee's parents. What arrangement of words would ever take away the pain of losing a child? How would life ever be as bright as it was for the Lorenzos? They don't hold themselves as high and their eyes are blurred with tears but Kurt can sense an unworldly wisdom among them. It will never be worth the price they paid.

Then Kurt gets to Victoria. She glances up at him through straight brown locks and her lips part knowingly. "The poem was beautiful. One of my favorites," Kurt says, making it clear he knew it was intended for him.

Victoria swallows and nods slowly. Catching Kurt by surprise, she reaches up and pulls him into a hug. Blaine and Cooper glance over but Kurt barely notices as a paper is shoved into his hand. "She came to me in a dream. She told me you would understand. I can't tell you everything because she said people who want to hurt you are here," she whispers in his ear. Kurt tries to look around but Victoria hugs him tighter. "Don't. They might notice. I don't want to die like she did…"

"You won't," Kurt assures. His heart aches that such a young girl has to worry about such a thing. "You saw her in a dream?"

"Not exactly. I saw this poem on her desk in my dreams and…and I just felt her. The words I put emphasis on were bolded in the dream. In my dream, on the other side, she left directions. I wrote them on the paper."

"Why did you—"

"I don't know. I can't help you anymore than that. I'm scared. Please just don't let her killer get away."

Kurt wants to chase all her fears away but he lets her go instead, giving her a smile and a brush on the shoulder. If he held on much longer, it would draw suspicion and as much as he hated to admit it she was right to be afraid. Anyone associated with him was in danger. Blaine and Cooper follow him away from the small family. Blaine catches up relatively quickly as they make their way outside to where the funeral procession would be lining up.

"What was that about?" Blaine asks. Kurt holds him a little closer as if he fears someone could take him away at any minute. They very well could, he thinks.

"I'll tell you later." Kurt pulls the paper out and uncrumples it. On the front side is the poem with all the words Victoria emphasized underlined. With the sunlight shining down, he could see the words on the other side. He glances up in time to see Jeff talking with his parents, both of whom were staring—no, glaring—in their direction. Kurt inhales and quickly stuffs the note in his pocket.

They get to their car before Blaine stops. "Oh, I think we have to go get a flag so people know were part of the procession. Be right back," Blaine says and kisses Kurt on the cheek. They share semi-reassuring smiles before Blaine rushes off towards the funeral directors. Cooper's making a joke at his expense but something catches his eyes.

Jeff's parents glare again, this time at Blaine. Kurt notices a few other people, likely parents as well, are sharing similar looks. It doesn't click for Kurt until Blaine's jogging back with a small flag in hand, obliviously unaware that anyone has any ill feelings towards him.

People are glaring at him because he's the son of a GAIA employee.

**And there's the end of chapter 27. Only 3 more, and we'll be at 30 chapters, which is A) crazy (in an awesome way) and B) the largest number of chapters I've ever had in a story. Also, in almost exactly one month, this story will officially be a year old! **

**As a side note, even though I stated it in the story—I'd rather be safe than sorry, I want to add the extra disclaimer. I do not own the poem **_**Resurrection **_**by Emily Dickinson. **

**Thank you to my readers, followers, reviewers, and to the people who added this story to their favorites as well. Also, a big thank you to my beta, irishflute for making corrections to this chapter. She's the best :)**

**cold kagome- Thank you dear :) Glad you liked it. Thanks for reviewing!**

**ToniBalogna978- Lol, happy dances are always fun! Well, you'll have to see about that. Either way, he won't make things easy I can promise you that. I haven't**

_**completely**_** explained Dustin's powers yet, but he's an absorber—I haven't revealed how powerful his abilities are quite yet but that will be coming soon. I can't argue with that logic :) I'd rather deliver quality updates than quick ones to. Lol, I can't say that's been the case for all more stories (there have been a few I've stopped) but those were always within the first few chapters. At getting close to thirty chapters, I'm much to invested to let this one go, so yes, updates will always come! Thanks for reviewing!**

**AlexaCardew- He certainly won't make things, lol. Santana would be excellent (a possible shout out to 'Smooth Criminal?) for ass-kicking. Ooohh, I didn't even think about incorporating Sam into the equation—but I think you'll be pleased with the result to the Brittany possible-mind-wipe thing. Thanks for reviewing!**

**B and B are Back- Aw! Thank you so much! I hope you continue to like even if you do stop reading, lol. Thanks for reviewing! **

**thexkat- Thanks! Was it? I thought it was about average for this story, but I could be wrong. The word count is hard for me to keep in mind statistically because a lot of times, I end up about 3500 words per chapter and a lot of times, I end up at almost 5500. I'm not great at math to begin with so….lol. We have some more Klaine this chapter! Lol, well, I think wet dreams would be a more ideal way of dealing with this. Yeah, I agree, I don't think Robin would ever hurt Blaine on purpose but…well, we'll have to see what happens. We all know I can be cruel sometimes. Unfortunately, Santana doesn't have it any easier this chapter :( But things should start picking up for her again. Lol, maybe we should get some "Keep Robin Alive" t-shirts? I would wear one. As far as Klaine this chapter, I know it wasn't a lot but I put in some, so I hope that fulfills your request :) There will be more to come, I promise! Thanks for reviewing my dear!**

**TheFawningCow- Thank you soooo much! You're such a sweetheart :) Glad you like it so far! Also glad you like Robin (another 'Keep Robin Alive' t-shirt wearer?) I hope you continue to enjoy the story. Thank you so much for reviewing with your kind words!**

**Mini Luna- Thank you so very much dear! So glad to hear it! And thank you for saying that about the characters being fleshed out—even though I feel like maybe I go a little crazy with it sometimes, lol. I will say now they seem to be coming together, I am glad I did it. Thank you again for reviewing!**

**tmmontp- Oh really? Gotta love a happy accident :) Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for reviewing!**

**Ekko230- Thanks dear! Glad you like it. Hope you like the update. Thanks for reviewing!**

**Orgasmic Bunnies- I know :( Unfortunately, this one isn't any easier for her but she's as tough as tough gets. Thank you very much for your kind words. Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for reviewing!**

**LoginProblems- Thank you! Lol, I hadn't though about that but I guess they all are, aren't they? My favorite would have to be Cooper "certified charmer". Yes, I agree! Dustin aced that particular certification. Thanks for reviewing!**

**my infectious smile- Thank you very much sweetie! Hopefully, you'll continue to enjoy it as the updates come :) Thanks for reviewing!**

**klainer4ever11- Thanks! Unfortunately, updates never really come quickly, but I'll try my best! Thanks for reviewing!**


	28. Chapter 28

Santana wakes up on the medical ward couch to the smell of coffee and warm cinnamon. She's been living on very little food from the vending machine the past few days, and that was only when Rosella forced her to eat something. Her appetite, as well as her attitude, has taken a huge dive thanks to recent events. Her body still aches from Dustin's attack. She also can't keep her mind off her unconscious mother who's currently lying in the hospital bed across from her. It doesn't help her nerves that Brittany hasn't text/spoken to her since everything went down. Smelling food—actual substance that wasn't stale and didn't come in a bag—makes her stomach grumble loudly. She blinks her eyes open and follows the scent.

Andre pushes a giant cinnamon bun in her face. She'd glare if it just didn't smell so _good_. "Here. Eat." Santana can't fight her grumbling stomach. She snatches the pastry from her (cringe) father and takes a big bite of it. She reaches for the large coffee in his hand but he pulls it back. "Not with your ribs, it's bad for you. I'll get you a glass of water."

Now she's glaring. With food in her mouth, she tells him, "Do I look like I give a fuck what's good for me?"

Andre sets his coffee down and picks up the water pitcher so he can pour her a glass of water. "No, but someone has to and since your mother is unavailable, that person is me. So for one thing, you are going to start eating regular meals. I was willing to let you set your own pace but clearly-" He glances at her over his shoulder. Santana looks down; she's already eaten the bun; now she's picking her fingers for crumbs. Andre pulls a wrapped package out of his jacket. He gives her that along with the glass of water he poured for her. "- you need a pace set for you."

Santana can smell the package is another cinnamon bun but with something in her stomach, she's a little more resilient, especially after his comments. "I don't need anything from you."

"Santana, I don't want to fight with you, I want you to eat, drink and not sleep on a couch. I understand you're upset about your mother—"

"Understand? Please. The only things you've cared about is you and your dick and once I was out of the latter, you couldn't be bothered. She's the only one who's been there for me whenever I've needed someone," She says, gesturing to her mother. "So no, I'm not leaving her side."

Andre stares at her, completely not amused. Eventually, he sets the pastry and water on the table. The minute he turns around to walks towards Maribel's bed, Santana grabs the cinnamon bun, unwraps it, and starts devouring it as well. Santana takes a particularly sharp bite when Andre touches his hand to Maribel's forehead. She hears him whisper, "When I warned you about this, I thought it would be me lying here, not you." His voice sounds so strained that Santana actually feels a little bit of pity for him. The moment it flares, she sends it back down again. Andre turns back around to face Santana. "I need you to fill in the blanks where Cooper couldn't fill them."

Santana crumbles up the wrapping once the second cinnamon bun is gone. "Big mouth…He told you?"

"He told Robin and she told me."

"And you just always listen to your booty call, don't you?"

Andre purses his lips together. "My 'booty call', which she isn't, is the only reason your booty call didn't get her memory erased yesterday. A little respect might be nice." Santana sneers, causing Andre to roll his eyes. "You said it was Tatiana's fiancée who attacked you. You're sure about this?"

"What kind of dumb question is that? Yes, I'm _sure_. Not just him too, he brought friends."

"Friends?"

"Kids from his glee club, I think. I only recognized one bitch and that's 'cause she was at McKinley for a short time."

"Glee club? As in Shelby's former glee club?" Santana nods slowly as if it were obvious. Well, it was, but she's sure he asked out of shock not ignorance. Andre sighs and runs a hand through his greasy, dark, hair. "Well, that's fucking fantastic…What about Tatiana? Did she help with the set-up?" He asks, half-expecting the answer to be yes and fully hoping it to be no. Santana wants to look him in the eye and tell him with 100% certainty that Tatiana was guilty, but she couldn't. The evidence said yes; something in Santana's brain said no.

_Besides,_ Santana thinks looking at her mother, _lying will make it harder to catch the slimeball who did this to her_. "She called me, but I don't know if she wanted to or not. The bitch I recognized, Sunshine, she has this really strong power. That's the real reason they stole her from our glee club."

"What is it? Mind control?"

"Physical manipulation, kind of like your buddy from the National sector. She doesn't actually make people do things, but she can be pretty persuasive if you don't like the feeling of having your lungs crushed."

"So you think he tortured Tatiana into doing it?"

Santana huffed and crossed her arms. She got a whiff of herself as she did so. Maybe Andre had a point about getting out of the hospital room; there was only so much body spray could do after a few days. "I don't know. I was a little bit busy trying to get away from her lover to care what happened to her. It's not like we grew up together or anything."

"And what about The Phoenix?" Andre says, quickly skimming over that biting commenting

Santana digs her nails into her fist and responds through her teeth. "Tatiana said she wanted to give it to me for safe-keeping. Said she didn't want you to have it. Dustin knew it was the only way I'd come to her."

Andre considers what Santana told him. "Did he have it?"

"I. Don't. Know." Santana repeats word by word, slowly and harshly. "Tatiana probably gave it up to him like the dumbass she is."

The comment was meant to cut Andre, but he shakes his head. "No, she didn't have it."

Santana's form releases tension from surprise. Her nails flatten over the marks they left in her palm. "She said you gave it to her when she graduated."

"I didn't even have it then. I haven't had it since just before you were born."

()()()()()()()

Tomorrow, Robin would be taking Blaine back to Dalton for the new semester. The thought made her sick to her stomach. There isn't much that doesn't make her sick nowadays.

Andre gave her the weekend off. He said it was because she's been working so hard but Robin knew it was because of his confession.

She thinks back to all those years—Andre flirting with her, his hostile attitude towards her after Blaine was born, how much he hated Floyd—and wonders how she couldn't see it. How could she not _feel_ it? Andre's always been guarded but when he confessed that he loved Robin (that he's been in love with her for years) she felt what he had been holding back. It was overwhelming to feel the love and pain he's been harboring. The most daunting of all is that the love she felt from Andre was much stronger than she ever felt from Floyd towards her. It's scary—touching, too, but mostly scary.

Robin can't deal with it right now. Not with Blaine and Kurt going back to Dalton and the case so weighing so heavily on them. At Floyd's request, she's not going to think about it today. She's taking Blaine shopping for some new clothes as a late/bonus Christmas present (for when he isn't wearing his uniform) and they've talked Kurt into coming along on their 'let's-not-think-about-it-for-today' spree. Floyd's even given her his card to buy Blaine and herself some things and it makes her feel more guilty about Andre's confession and—

No, not today. Today is for them. Robin's even talked Monique (the woman who has been guarding Kurt and his house since Renee's death) into letting her guard Kurt for the day.

"Blaine, stop looking at bowties, I'm sure you have enough," Kurt comments, barely looking up from the Marc Anthony rack. Blaine drops the bowtie back in the rack and crosses his arms, making Robin smile.

"But Kurt…Mom!"

"Sorry baby, my hands are tied. He is your boyfriend." She then mouths a 'thank you' to Kurt, who smiles back at her. Blaine sighs and picks up the pile of pants he put down to look through the bowtie container.

"Well, if you guys are going to be clothing fascists then I'm just going to go try on clothes away from your judgment."

"God, are you sixteen or six?" Robin sighs. Blaine huffs but both Kurt and Robin can tell he's having as much fun as they are. He swings by and kisses Kurt on the cheek before heading to the dressing room.

"Come show us when you find a good pair!" Kurt calls over his shoulder. Robin picks up a shirt she could see Cooper wearing. Her 26-year-old son would surely throw a fit if she bought Blaine clothes and got Cooper nothing. "Honestly, he's such a Goober sometimes."

"I know. Sometimes I wonder where exactly he came from."

Kurt snorts. "What are you talking about? He looks just like you. Acts like you too."

Robin raises her eyebrow at Kurt. No one had ever compared her to Blaine personality wise besides Floyd and even then, the similarities were limited. It was by no means a bad comparison, just not expected. "What makes you say that?" she asks curiously.

He picks up a short-sleeved button up shirt. Robin's not sure how exactly she knows (maybe because he has the same look in his eyes that he always has when he's thinking of Blaine) but she knows Kurt's looking at it for Blaine. He shrugs. "Your mannerisms, I think. I just…I don't know how to explain it though." Kurt looks at Robin, considering her for a moment. The feelings he radiated were so—mild; thoughtfulness with a lot of warmth and a hint of jealousy. She doesn't understand why he'd be jealous, only that he is. "It's in your eyes. When you want to help someone, they're wide and glassy. When you're protective, they're smooth and hard. They're so expressive and…I can tell there's so much you and Blaine hide behind them. I don't know why I think that about you—I mean, Blaine makes sense, but…" Kurt blushes, embarrassed by his rambling. He tries to hide it by holding the shirt in front of him. "What do you think of this?"

"It's nice," she comments, noting silently that it's exactly Blaine's style. It's becoming more and more daunting to feel the growing bond between the two boys. Even though Kurt and Blaine haven't known each other for long, Robin can already feel love (not fondness, actual love) between them and it frightens her. If something were to ever happen to Kurt, she didn't think Blaine could move past it. It took almost all of Blaine's strength to keep him going after his date was killed—she can't even imagine what would happen if Kurt was taken away from him. Another part is she's still so protective over Blaine. It only made sense that she still saw him as her baby. Though, she liked Kurt. She could see him in their lives. If Kurt survived this mess…if Blaine survived… "You're right, you know."

This time, it's Kurt that gives Robin an odd look. "Well yes, I'm always right, but about what this time?"

"Blaine hides a lot of what he's feeling most of the time, and I do the same. We all hide things, I think. Probably me more than others." And why was she saying this to Kurt? She had to admit, it was nice to tell someone other than the people who already knew.

"My mom hid a lot of things," Kurt comments dryly—bitterly. He looks at Robin out of the corner of his eye and there's jealousy again. Robin realizes where it's coming from—he's jealous he doesn't have a mom like her.

It's touching in so many ways, Robin might cry, but it's heart breaking in many others. Kurt's been hurt by his mother's secrets, but Robin understands why Elizabeth kept them. They were walking a very thin line here and Elizabeth only wanted to protect her son. Robin wonders just how jealous Kurt would be if he knew half the things Robin was hiding.

Her son comes back and wraps his arms around Kurt, planting a kiss on his neck. Kurt jumps and drops the shirt, turning around to face Blaine. He takes a look at Blaine's outfit and smiles. "Very nice. See, not every outfit has to have a bowtie." He straightens Blaine's collar while the other boy chuckles and rubs his nose against Kurt's. It's so overly affectionate Robin thinks she should remind them about not over doing it with the PDA. Yet she hasn't seen them this happy or carefree in a long time—especially Blaine. They're so wonderfully involved in their own little world that it's easy to forget that there are things like death, homophobia, and bad people wanting to hurt to them. In their world, there weren't secret or lies, just love. Robin lets them live in that world a little bit longer.

After all, today was their day not to think about it.

()()()()()()()

Tatiana makes herself a promise—if she gets out of this alive, she's going to stop running. She's going to confront her father and lay it all out on the table. Then maybe they'll move on and she won't feel so guilty about cutting him out of her life for all these years. She's going to go back to school and make something out of herself. Maybe do something with art. She loved painting before her parents split up; maybe she'd do something with that. She'd quit smoking once and for all. She'd be an artist and smoke free; she had no idea how much she wanted that until now.

Maybe before she left, she'd go to Santana and beg for forgiveness, tell her she that while she called her she had a voice whispering in her ear and Sunshine's hand pressed against her back. Maybe one day, she'd actually have a relationship worth mending with Santana. If she did, she wouldn't doubt whether or not people knew or cared that she was handcuffed to a bed in a tiny motel room. Maybe then, she wouldn't look up and see a full gas container sitting delicately on head board so if she tried to use her powers, the whole room would blow up.

Then maybe, just maybe, once she did all that, completed her promise, she would find Cooper Anderson and ask him out. Maybe then, she'd know what it was like to fall in love. It's this promise that she clings through despite the constant migraine, the aching muscles, and the hovering threat of dehydration.

She hears the lock click and the motel room door opens. She doesn't know whom to expect. Dustin doesn't come to see her anymore, not since the first night she woke up in this god-forsaken place. Usually, it's one of the weaker members of Vocal Adrenaline who come and give her some food and water—enough to keep her alive but not enough to make her strong. They want her weak so they can control her. Physically, they've succeeded, but mentally, she's holding on surprisingly well (and if she's surprised by that, she's sure her captors must be as well). None of the people who come provide any sort of social stimulation—they come, feed her, water her, let her use the bathroom and then lock her up once again. She always tries to make note of potential weakness but they're all the same. Practically drones, really.

Not today apparently. Today, Jesse St. James is the one who comes through the door. He stares at her with wide, almost compassionate eyes. "Jesus," he whispers. She wants to smirk, and would if she wasn't so thirsty, because it's just funny how the person she used to despise most from her ex-fiancée's group is now the one who's horrified over her conditions.

"You're not supposed to talk to me," she reminds him, not even recognizing the sound of her voice. It's a rule she's sure. They never talk to her unless it's to give her a command.

Jesse shuts the door and flips the lock. "I'm not supposed to be here at all. Let's just say it took a lot of persistence to find out where you are." He reaches into his bag and pulls out bottled water. He cracks it open and even as she wets her lips, she has to turn her head away.

"If you're not here to get me out, don't bother. It'll just make me need to pee more." She hopes desperately that he's here to get her out of here. Her heart squeezes tightly when she hears him twist the lid back on. "What the fuck are you doing here, then?"

Jesse walks over and sits on the edge of the bed. He holds the water in his hands and stares down at it. "I didn't want to be a part of this, you know."

Seriously? He was going to pour out his guilty little heart over the bed sheets—the same itchy material that's been scratching against her skin for days—and over her. They weren't even friends. She didn't think her worse enemy (before Dustin became that enemy) would even leave her tied to a bed as he tried to clean his conscious. "This ain't exactly a picnic for me either."

"You knew what you were getting into, though. Maybe I did too but…I just wanted to sing. That sounds stupid—I've been acting stupid lately—it doesn't make it less true. I did what Dustin told me because I wanted to be the lead of Vocal Adrenaline. I didn't want any of this to happen."

All she can think about is how stupid he's being _right now_. Couldn't he clear his conscious by getting her out? What little sanity she was holding onto was beginning to slip now.

"You can help me fix it. I need you to tell me what you know about Rachel Berry."

"Go fuck yourself!" Tatiana growls, practically pulling at her restraints. Jesse raises an eyebrow at her, trying not to smile in entertainment. "You have no intentions of helping me get out of this, yet you want me tell you every secret I know? Is there any part of me that's sacred anymore?!"

"This isn't about you. It's about her. I know she's in danger because Dustin wants me to keep an eye on her. Shelby asked me to protect her—"

"And you've done just a fantastic job, haven't you?"

"And you would have done better?" Jesse stands up and faces her, all traces of amusement replaced with a stone-edged glare. "At least I'm here trying to protect your aunt's daughter. What have you done for your family? Nothing. You have no one to blame but yourself for being in this place. You and I—we're no different. If we end up dying in all of this then that's on us, but Rachel is as innocent as innocent gets. I can't protect her if I don't know what's going on."

Well, he wasn't entirely wrong, Tatiana amended. She still didn't see why he couldn't help her. "Nothing I know is going to help her. You already know she's Shelby's daughter, what more do you want?"

"Anything you can give me—who's her biological father? Why did Shelby give her up? Is it because Dustin wants her? Shelby won't tell me anything more than Rachel's her daughter and in danger," Jesse says, and then adds. "I wish I could help you out. Maybe you got yourself into this but you don't deserve to be treated this way. I just can't because I have to make Dustin think he can trust me. If I let you out, I'll be the first suspect. I'm already putting his trust in danger by being here. I need to bring him down from the inside out and—"

"Okay, okay, fine" Tatiana sighs. She would have fought so much harder if her stomach wasn't grumbling and her mouth wasn't so dry. Besides, Jesse had a point; Dustin needed to be brought down and that would be more effective if they had a double agent who could actually do something. "Look, I don't know why Dustin wants her exactly, but I think it's because she could be a soothsayer."

Tatiana releases a huff of air, too thirsty to continue. Jesse opens the bottle and puts it to her lips. She doesn't drink much, only enough to stave away the thirst and to wet her mouth. "Shelby's grandmother was a soothsayer. A good one too; she made a phasmara and Shelby's mom gave it to my grandfather. There aren't many around anymore. I think he's hoping Rachel will turn out to be a soothsayer so he can use her to make more."

"But why would he assume Rachel is one? Shelby has aura abilities, not physic."

"She has aura abilities that damn near border on physic. Besides, he's probably banking on the idea that Rachel inherited her powers from her great-grandmother and not her mother. Which yeah, would probably be like playing the genetic lottery if it wasn't for Carl."

Jesse inhales a deep breath. "Rachel's dad?"

Tatiana manages a weak nod. Her headache makes her twitch as she tries to remember all the details. "He-He was really nice. Like a dad to me sometimes. He and Shelby tried to be there for me when my parents split up. Shelby was devastated when he—" Tatiana can't deal with that particular topic so he moves on. "He wasn't a physic either, but he said he had it in his family. I don't remember where or how far back, but it wouldn't take much to figure out. As long as it's there, that's all Dustin would care about."

"Even if it's another great-grandparent, that would be enough for a decent chance," Jesse says more to himself than Tatiana. "And Dustin said he knew how to make it so she could access her powers. I still don't get how he thinks Rachel can help him, unless he's willing to wait 6 decades for her to learn how to make a phasmara. Wouldn't he just take the one your family has?"

"Except I don't have access to it. I don't even know if my dad has it—he hasn't talked about it in years. I have no idea, I honestly don't. I was sort of counting on Dustin not knowing she was disempowered at all." Tatiana laughs humorlessly and shakes her head. "So much for that. As much as I hate that fucker right now, he's always been one step ahead of everyone."

"Yeah, well, maybe this time we can keep ahead of him." Jesse offers Tatiana another sip of water but she shakes her head. He twists the cap back on and puts it back in his bag. "I have to get going. I'm meeting with Rachel in a little while. I'll come back later to give you more food and water. Maybe we could even figure out a way for you to go to the bathroom more. I am really sorry I have to leave you here."

Tatiana shrugs, fighting against the boiling rage inside her. At the same time, hope is beginning to grow. Perhaps she still had a chance to fulfill her promise after all now that she had an unlikely ally. "Just do what you have to do and I'll get out in time. Don't risk coming back here unless you need to. Just focus on protecting Rachel."

"I will," Jesse promises, swinging his bag over his shoulder. He walks towards the door.

Tatiana bites her lip, trying to make sense of the request in her head—out of all the things she could ask, she was sure it would be the least expected. "Jesse." He stops and turns around to face her curiously. She shakes her head at her own mindless desire, realizing that of all the things she needed and wanted, hope was the only thing keeping her sane, thus it only made sense to ask for more of it. "Could you sing the Free Credit Rating Today jingle?" Jesse narrows his eyes at the unusual request. "Come on, just please do it."

Jesse hesitantly starts singing the jingle and Tatiana leans her head against her arm as she listens. It's slow and out of rhythm, but it takes her back to when she was a stupid, spoiled, teenager. Really, she thinks, not that different than how she is now. At least then, she had fun sometimes, fun in the form of a goofy teenager with movie star looks and a magic voice. If she made it out of this, she'd ask Cooper in person to sing that song. They could dance in a cheesy fashion to it for all she cared; as long as she was with the only man that ever made her happy, she'd never complain again.

The song still plays in her head as Jesse leaves. No longer_ if_ she made it out, but _when_.

()

Jesse locks the door behind him and pulls his phone out. As he walks away from the motel door and over to his car, he dials a number and puts the phone to his ear.

The caller picks up after one ring. "Did you find anything out?"

Jesse cringes at the sound of Dustin's voice, nevertheless, he gives him what he wants. "I don't think she has the Phoenix, but she gave me lots of info on Rachel."

"Speaking of which—"

"It's going on as planned. Mother and daughter will be reunited." Jesse assures. It sounds so beautiful in theory—so why did Jesse feel like he was selling his soul to the devil.

_Not my soul_, he reminds himself, _people with souls don't do this_.

()()()()()()()

Shelby plays piano softly in her apartment. Softly because Beth is napping in the next room and she doesn't want to wake her up. Peace is so rare nowadays; Shelby takes full advantage of it. She lets the music take away all her troubles. Her father, while inconsistent with his interest in her, had always enjoyed how musically talented she was. She remembers when Jon and Andre or Jon and his woman of the moment would get into bad fights, she'd run to the piano and play a song to try and drown out the arguing. Sometimes, once the arguing was done, she'd look from the keys to see her father watching her. He'd ask her with such pride in his heart to play another song, and she always did. Shelby would never call her relationship with her father perfect—he was loud, violent, and extremely mean when given the chance, particularly to her beloved brother—but she still had things like the piano to connect fondly with him. Just because someone wasn't a good person, it didn't mean they were impossible to love. Shelby cared for her father, even if sometimes she doubted he returned affection.

Her memories are interrupted by a few loud knocks. She jumps up from the piano and rushes to the door, hoping to open it before another set of knocks could wake her daughter. She tilts her head confusion when she sees Andre standing at her door, his head pointed towards the ground. "Andre? I thought you were working today." It's a safe question since Andre is a_lways_ working. It seems ridiculous that she feels so guilty for remembering their father, knowing how harshly he had treated Andre for all those years. Ridiculous yet justified.

She doesn't like the vibes she's getting off Andre. It's so similar to how he was when he approached her about giving up Rachel that she almost wants to slam the door shut. Instead, when he asks, "Can I come in?" she opens it up. He steps inside and Shelby closes the door slowly.

"Is water instead of tea okay? Beth's taking a nap so I don't want the whistling to—"

"Shelby, sit down," He insists with a firm but gentle voice. Shelby blinks at him, growing more and more uncomfortable in her own home.

"Are you sure you don't want anything? Really, it will only take a second," She tries again. Andre doesn't reply to her question. Shelby takes a deep breath and moves to sit by Andre. "You know, this is dramatic even for you."

It was meant to tease him, but Andre looks up and stares at her. Andre is by no means an expressive man and his face is lined with guilt, pain and fear. Mostly fear. Shelby braces herself for terrible news—it must have been about Kurt or Rachel.

"I need to tell you something about Carl." Well, that's not what she expected. Her heart aches from the name alone, yet Andre continues on. "There's something I've hidden from you for a long time…because I was afraid if you knew, you might turn against me. Understand at the time, you were, and still are, my only ally and I needed you to be on my side."

"The past is the past," Shelby says, hoping maybe they could just avoid this dance once again. It isn't until Andre clenches his hands together that she realizes this isn't the same guilty confession she's heard before. The look on his face tells her it's an entirely different one all together. "Okay, let's not drag this out. Just tell me."

"I need you to promise me you'll still help me."

"Andre, you're my brother… Of course, I promise."

Andre nods but it's not at all in agreement. It's a lie to himself. "When I recruited Carl to help get Elizabeth to safety, I gave him something to protect. It was getting dangerous for me to keep it and I couldn't give it to you, because you were too obvious." Shelby hands start to shake as her head starts to race. "I thought he'd be safe. He wasn't very powerful so they was no reason—"

Shelby holds up her hand to stop him from talking. She closes her eyes and tries to swallow the rage developing in the pit of her stomach. When she opens her eyes again Andre looks frightened, like a little boy about to be punished. "You gave Carl the Phoenix? Knowing full well people were looking for it? What's wrong with you?! Why would you do that?!"

"I thought it would be safe with him. It couldn't get into the wrong hands, you know that Shelby." His voice is soft, uncertain. Shelby can't find it within her to show him pity. She's always understood the things her brother does are for the greater good. He's always tried to keep as many people as he could safe, even if it caused him grief. Those have always been his sacrifices though. This time, it felt like hers and it wasn't one she was asked to make. "I didn't know they'd target him to get to Elizabeth. I had no idea they'd steal it from him."

"Steal it?! You mean they got it anyway?!" Shelby gasps and stands up. A huge realization hits her. "A-Are you trying to tell me that my fiancée died because you gave him the Phoenix? Was Carl killed because you gave him the Phoenix and they stole it from him?"

Andre's quiet for a long time. Without looking up at her, he answers, "I'm sorry. I never wanted him to get hurt. I was trying to protect everyone and it cost Carl his life."

"Get out," She says through her teeth. There's no way in hell she can look at her brother right now, never mind hear another word from his mouth.

"Shelby, please don't do this. I need your help—"

"GET OUT! Get out of my home right now!" Beth starts crying from the bedroom. Shelby glares at Andre as she walks past him and into Beth's room. She stops her body from shaking so she can pick up Beth and try to calm her again. The screaming toddler is so loud Shelby almost missed the loud slam. Almost.

Once Andre's gone, she carries Beth back out to the living and sits on the couch. Beth's cries die down to whimpers and Shelby feels similar sounds leaving her mouth. It's getting harder and harder to breath in the small apartment but she clings to Beth, trying to regain some sense of comfort. It's hard as thoughts pulse through her brain like ticks on a clock.

_Can't breathe…_

_Tick…_

_Can't believe he did this to me…_

_Tick…_

_I can't believe he did this to Carl…_

_Tick._

_To Rachel…_

_Tick._

_To me._

_**Tick.**_

Behind her, the mantel clock starts to chime. Its silent all around her as Beth finally stops crying. Tears still roll down Shelby's face as she considers the news Andre just told her. She presses a kiss to her daughter's head.

"You're all I have now."

()()()()()()()

"Mom, Kurt and I want to talk to you about something." Blaine brings up quietly, reaching under the table to grab Kurt's hand. They stopped at the food court after a few hours of shopping. They figured now was just as good as time as any to bring up their plan.

"Uh-oh," Robin teases, putting down her fork and wiping her mouth off with a napkin. "Why do I have a feeling this isn't going to be a good talk?"

"Well, it's not bad per say. You just might say no and I don't think that's an option right now." Blaine notices his mother tensing across from him. He squeezes Kurt's hand, trying to seep up the courage to convince her to do this. It's difficult when he's not even sure if he has the courage to follow through with this.

"Kurt's been trying to contact his mother," Blaine says much too simply for the given situation. Robin raises an eyebrow at the boys. "He hasn't had much luck contacting her, but he has spoken to spirits before."

"You have?"

Kurt nods slowly. "Uh, I was able to see Renee shortly after she died." Robin eyes go wide as her teeth grind together behind her lips. Blaine can see it from the subtle movement from her lips. It's times like this Blaine wishes he had empathy like his mom—from time to time, it can make him feel a little vulnerable knowing that Robin knows everything he's feeling and he has to guess about what's going on in her head. "There's a ghost at Dalton who's contacted multiple times; both there and at other locations. I think he's our hope if I want to contact my mom and learn more about my abilities."

"Okay," Robin breathes and then adds a noise of agreement. "I guess getting Elizabeth's help could be useful. It certainly couldn't hurt, though you two seem to think so. Why did you think I wouldn't agree to this."

It's Blaine's turn to speak. They agreed on this once it was decided they had to enlist Robin's help. This is Blaine's demon; he has to make the decision to face it otherwise Robin may never agree. "The ghost that's been contacting Kurt—it's Sebastian."

"Sebastian?" Her voice is small and worried. "As in—"

"My date from Sadie Hawkins," Blaine confirms. He doesn't have to be an empathetic to know she's shocked and horrified. It's written all over his usually reserved mother's face. "He's been haunting me. That's why it took me so long to move past what happened—well, other than the fact it was really messed up."

"Blaine's been able to fight off his presence. That's kind of the problem, though. I think he might be able to tell us how I can contact my mom, but he only comes around if he can get to Blaine."

Robin bites her lip and leans back in her seat. She gazes down at the boys, all signs of shock gone from her face. "Are you asking me to give permission for you to use Blaine as bait?" She asks in an emotionless, nearly fierce voice. Blaine begins to loosen his grip as his hand begins to tremble. Kurt tightens his hold. The boys meet eyes and Kurt gives Blaine an encouraging smile. Blaine smiles back, gathering the courage to tell his mother their plan.

"Actually— we want you to use your empathy to make me emotional enough to get Sebastian's attention."

()()()()()()()

When another round of knocks bang against Shelby's door, she considers not answering. She doesn't want to answer out of fear that it's Andre coming back to beg for forgiveness—something she's not sure she'll be able to give for a long time. Shelby knows that she can't hate Andre for the rest of her life—she just really wants to right now. She needs to feel something other than the soul crushing grief that's been chasing her for nearly 17 years.

Another group of knocks and Shelby sighs. "Should Mommy let it go?" She asks Beth, who's playing with a toy music box on the floor. Beth giggles innocently which makes Shelby smile in return. She pushes herself off the couch and gets the door just before the visitor starts knocking again. The door slips from her grasp as she stares at her guest. Needless to say, it wasn't her brother.

It's a petite girl not more than a few inches smaller than she is. She's captivatingly beautiful in Shelby's eyes but nothing like she imagined. In her dreams, this girl looked like Carl—his green eyes, his thin lips, his subtle jaw line. Instead, she's almost Shelby's mirror image. They had identical sparkling eyes, similar pouty lips, and even their hair fell and curl in almost the same way. The only things she had that reminded Shelby of Carl was the tone of her skin and the bright white of her teeth as her lips parted in shock. So many emotions explode in Shelby—joy, pain, confusion, and fear. She can't even begin to make those feelings; she can't do anything but stare at the girl in front of her.

A few moments pass and the girl clears her throat so she can speak. "I-I don't know how to say this. This may seem crazy but I'm…"

"Rachel Berry," Shelby finishes breathlessly. Rachel lowers her eyes and nods. This is her; this is her daughter. Years of wondering and regret may finally come to an end. Shelby feels she should be happy.

Except she can't, because this reunion couldn't have come at a worse time.

**Hey guys! So, my excuse for this taking so long—I was at the end of my semester and finals was here, and everyone in my house went away for a week, so it's been really hectic. The good news is I'M DONE WITH SCHOOL FOR THE SUMMER! Woo-hoo! My goal is to up my update rate, but we'll have to see how that goes. I am setting an end goal for this (I'm thinking hopefully ending at 40-45 chapters? Depends on how quickly the next couple chapters go). **

**With that in mind, thank you all kindly for your patience, as well as your reviews, favorites, follows, and general readership. I just wish I were faster at updating. Also, a big thank you to my beta, irishflute, for reading over this and making corrections. She's hands down, the busiest person I know and still makes time to check over my writing so it's readable for you fine folks. I always say this, but she's awesome!**

**cold kagome- Yeah, it was kind of a shocking chapter, lol. Thanks for reviewing :)**

**thexkat- Yeah, math isn't good people. Give me a writing assignment any day, math on the otherhand…just no. The good news is I don't have to anymore undergrad math anymore! The bad news, I may have to do it for grad school. Lol, well, in journalism you'll probably be pretty math free—you can just hire people for that, right? As for Jeff's parents staring at Kurt, that passage was confusing now that I read over it again— Kurt thought people were glaring at him at first because they were warned about bad guys but when Blaine walked away, he realized everyone was glaring at the Anderson boys, not him because they're Robin sons. I know, right? It's not really Robin's fault everything's going to hell, but drama is drama. Santana's going to start looking up again probably next chapter—Andre got a little beat up this chapter though. Lol, he's honestly been one of the hardest characters to turn from bad guy to good guy, but it seems to be working well (I don't know if anyone still dislikes him, anyway). Yeah, I know what you mean—it's been bitter sweet seeing them apart (sweet because it's been really good for their separate characters to be apart, particularly for Blaine and bitter because I just want Klaine back together) maybe fandom god will be kind to us and not make us wait until next season (which it's looking like that might happen) to find out whether or not they get back together. Oh really? That would be a really fun flash mob to see! I appreciate the efforts to save Robin, lol. I can't help but feel a little bit proud when an OC is well liked. Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Thanks for reviewing sweetie!**

**AlexaCardew- Aw! Thank you so very much! I try to incorporate at least one of them (out of the two, it's typically Kurt because I think this story is a little bit more about him than it is Blaine) into every chapter, but there were so many story lines at one point, it just seemed really hard! Fortunately, now that they're intertwining, it's becoming easier. So, long story short, thank you so much for your kind comment :) Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Thanks for reviewing!**

**ToniBalogna978- I know, right? The entire time I was thinking "How can I make these guys as insanely scary as possible?" and well, that happened. Thanks dear! I love writing Sugar and Trent together and of course, Kurt and Trent's relationship. I can't give away two much, but… we have about one chapter left to wrap up this arch (which is Renee's death and everyone's reactions to it), and then we'll be entering the next arch which will (cough) have some of the bigger secrets revealed (cough). I won't say it will be in the next couple chapters but…**_**very **_**likely soon after that? Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Thanks for reviewing!**

**animelover5000- Thank you so very much! I'm so glad you're enjoying it! I love Trent too, especially after this season. Such a sweet kid! Some of my favorite stories are the ones where he's an important or prominent side character. Really, I think in canon while he loves being with the Warblers, he might feel like a bit of an outsider with them (not sure why, but I felt that way even before the events of this season) and I wanted to capture that in this story. I know, I think it's a little too easy for me to make bad things happen to characters I love. Thank YOU for reading and reviewing! Hope you enjoy the update :)**

**Christina B- Thanks hon :) So glad you like it! Haha, yes, I was going for a very soap opera feel here. As you can probably guess, I use to watch soap operas with my mom growing up (General Hospital was our favorite) and I just loved the story lines! We'll be learning more about two of those (won't reveal we'll have to wait a while for yet) very soon. Hope you enjoy the update! Thanks for reviewing! **

**Guest (the one who reviewed first)- Thank you so very much! What a super sweet review! I can promise you we will be seeing Kurt using his powers some more very soon! Maybe in unexpected ways ;) Thanks for the review! Eager to know what you think of the update! **

**Separate Entity- Hope you don't mind me answering all the reviews under one section (by the way, thank you for all your reviews! You're awesome!). **

**Chapter 8: It certainly wasn't a calm chapter, was it? lol**

**Chapter 13: Yeah, most people caught on the chapter before this one. I tried to be subtle but by the end of chapter 12, I pretty much all but said it, lol. So rather than drag it out and pretend it was a secret, I just laid it out on the table. I actually like it a lot better this way because I wouldn't have been able to explore Andre like I have if Blaine's paternity was still a secret to the viewer. **

**Chapter 15: Tatiana isn't very liked around here, lol. Well, maybe more her attitude isn't. She's kind of based on a lot of people I know in my life (particularly females) who are by all means good people, but often put themselves in rough situations. In particular when I write her, I have one person in my life in mind, with a ton of other voices throwing things in. She's just someone who would do great things if she wasn't so busy messing up her own life. Sorry, probably more than you were expecting on her, lol. I always feel the most guilty for doing bad things to Trent but Kurt is a close second in that department. **

**Chapter 16: Now that I look at it, it was an extremely back story related chapter, wasn't it? Lol, thanks :)**

**Chapter 17: Mine too! Well, besides maybe Perfect, but if not, Baby, It's Cold Outside would be my second. Yeah, this was when they were starting to burst at the seams (as you can probably guess now, they've gotten a lot easier to fit in now that they're more intertwined). Glad you liked the chapter!**

**Chapter 21: Robin's fate, surprisingly, seems to be one of the bigger questions, lol. We'll have to see! I was dying to have father and son talk! They really needed it. To answer your question, yes, it was Jesse in the background. Just adding a little gas to the St. Berry vs. Finchel fire :) I, too, am a sucker for cuddles and wish I could put them more in this story. I think that's why there's so many in Dreams. **

**Chapter 23: Thank you soooo much to responding to my request for info on genetics! I'll be messaging you a little later to ask more about the details. I've got an idea in my head for how genetics in this world work but I would like to have you confirm it 's possible if that's okay :) I really appreciate it! Just to quickly answer, I'm pretty sure the superhuman gene is a more than two component gene (it fits better with what I've written so far). As for your actual review—Trent, we'll be finding that out next chapter and for Tatiana, we've a little bit of a change going on in this chapter but we'll have more soon. Lol, I mean, they wouldn't be an official couple if Wes didn't approve of it. Thanks :) I love writing that scene, I just don't know if we're going to get any more fight club any time soon. Can't comment much on Renee's death but…I will hint that I think the end result will be the most shocking thing about this story. **

**Chapter 24: Agreed once again, my dear :) **

**Chapter 25: Hells yeah! I've wanted to have Santana kick some ass for awhile now, lol. I also really wanted to add some more Cooper, because I agree with 100%. Yes, he can be a little much at times, but I think he cares and wants to help a great deal of the time. He might be a little selfish, but it's obvious he loves Blaine (and I'm assuming the rest of his family) in canon. Obviously in this story, he and Robin have a fairly close, if sometimes complicated, relationship). **

**Chapter 26: All I'll say about this is that in this story, Kurt gave it to Mercedes after his dad married Carol so it wouldn't have to go to a storage locker. Everything else, you'll have to wait and see ;) **

**Chapter 27: Maybe….lol.**

**Again, thanks for reviewing! Also, very good guesses! We'll have to wait and see if they're right ;)**

**Guest (2****nd**** to answer)- Hopefully, it won't be so long after this one. Sorry for the wait. Thanks for reviewing! And of course, for being patient :) Hope you like the update! **

**Esther0407- Wow, talk about great timing! I was just double-checking the reviews to make sure I got them all when this popped up! So, I guess you won't have to wait too long for the review, lol. Anyway, thank you so much! I do enjoy writing from the different perspectives in this story. Don't me wrong, I love writing Klaine, but it's nice to say "Okay, now I'll write from Jesse's perspective" or "Oh, time for a Robin scene!" Aw, thank you! Don't make me blush! (Fyi, it's too late but thank you for your extremely kind words). Hope you enjoy the new chapter! Thanks for your very well-timed review! **


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